Indy - Sept. 20, 2023 Vol 31. No. 37

Candidates vie for local school board spots in Nov. 7 election

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OUT OF TIME

Neighbors try to remove racist covenant that dates to the 1940s

STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAM ZUBECK | zubeck@csindy.com

ON ONE OF THE HOTTEST days of the summer, Haelee Swanson and her real estate colleagues canvassed a Pikes Peak Park neighborhood in an effort to wipe out a covenant that once barred people of color from living there.

It was Sept. 1 — more than 82 years after the covenant was recorded on March 3, 1941, with the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.

Advanced by developer Peter J. Paoli, the covenant states, “No persons of any race other than the Caucasian race shall use or occupy any building or any lot, except that this covenant shall not prevent occupancy by domestic servants of a different race domiciled with an owner or tenant.”

It’s anyone’s guess whether or how the

WHEN YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT REAL ESTATE

covenant was enforced and when buyers and tenants stopped abiding by it.

In fact, the covenant isn’t enforceable, because it violates federal anti-discrimination laws. But Swanson’s personal experience with the covenant — as a Realtor, she sold a house three years ago to a Hispanic couple — drove her to campaign to have it removed.

On this day, she and others went door-to-door to spread the word that on Sept. 16 they’d set up a booth on a street corner in the neighborhood, west of Memorial Park, to gather signatures.

“When you have to read it [the covenant],” Swanson says, “it’s just a punch in the gut.”

PETER PAOLI, WHO WROTE THE covenant, is buried in Evergreen Cem-

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etery beneath a cross-shaped headstone bearing the monogram IHS, the Greek monogram for Jesus Christ. He met his end in 1955 when he shot and killed himself in his Downtown office building.

He left behind the covenant, which seems to have never been publicly questioned until Swanson handled a real estate purchase on behalf of Stephan Nelson and his fiancée, Brianna Escobe-

do, in the fall of 2019.

As the Indy reported in January 2020, the couple were poised to close on their house when they encountered the covenant.

Escobedo found the language hurtful. “Honestly, I was taken aback by it,” she said at that time. “As someone who

continued on p. 4 ➔

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Haelee Swanson (left) and Maddison Engel explain the covenant to a resident.

It’s just a punch in the gut.

— Haelee Swanson

is Hispanic, and my family immigrated here from Mexico, I was shocked and disappointed. I had feelings of frustration and anger. But if anything, it made it more of a victory. I wondered what they would think about it now — to have us living in this household?”

That neighborhood, in fact, is among the city’s most diverse, with homeowners of all races living within the roughly three-block area bordered by Cucharras Street to the north and the alley south of Vermijo Avenue to the south, and Hancock Avenue to the east. The subdivision ends four lots west of Cedar Street.

Swanson says the covenant, which applies to 45 homes, arose just before closing on the Nelson and Escobedo house and required the title company to write an exception in the title insurance policy, noting that discrimination as stated in the covenant is illegal.

Other than that, the covenant had no impact on the deal, with the lender reporting that “it closed just like any loan.”

As Nelson observed at the time, “The thing that strikes me is this whole neighborhood seems very Hispanic and diverse. At what point did they [white people] decide it wasn’t their neighborhood anymore?”

It’s long been illegal under both state and federal laws to discriminate in housing.

As the Indy previously reported, the federal Fair Housing Act, adopted in 1968, bars discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability by landlords, real estate companies, municipalities, banks or other lending institutions and homeowners insurance companies.

At the state level, Colorado’s fair housing law was enacted in 1959 and now bars discrimination on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, national origin or ancestry.

Discriminating based on race in any form is referred to as red-lining, a term that comes from the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation’s “grading” of neighborhoods in the 1930s into four categories based in large part on racial makeup, with minority neighborhoods considered high-risk for mortgage lenders and marked in red.

Former El Paso County Assessor Steve Schleiker confirmed three years ago that restrictions calling for discrimination against protected classes are illegal and, therefore, unenforceable.

State law provides for modification of private restrictive covenants through the written approval of a majority of all owners of real property within the subdivision. Following approval, the modified covenant must be filed for recording with the county clerk and recorder.

Asked to comment on the covenant reversal effort, Mayor Yemi Mobolade said in a statement, “I support the commitment of the homeowners who are working to remove this discriminatory covenant in their neighborhood. Their efforts help ensure Colorado Springs is an inclusive, culturally rich, economically prosperous, safe, and vibrant worldclass American city.”

“If it means getting this redacted, sure,” one man said. “Whatever makes this area more fair.”

At the Sept. 16 petition gathering, Swanson and her cohorts set up a table in the neighborhood to collect signatures, offering cookies to those who stopped by.

Lyn reported getting 11 signatures of the desired 25 as of about 11:30 a.m.

ON SEPT.

1,

SI LYN, WHO WAS helping Swanson make the rounds to contact homeowners, said she joined the effort, because, “It’s the principle of it. It’s still hurtful.”

Swanson, who put the petition drive on hold during the pandemic but recently revived it, said people should stand up for civil rights, regardless of the era or despite the fact that, in this case, the covenant is unenforceable.

“I feel like we can light a fire, because we don’t want to be identified like that,” she said.

As the group fanned out to knock on doors, Swanson’s first stop was a wellkept corner-lot house where two men came to the door.

When Swanson explained the reason for her visit, both agreed to sign the petition.

Demetrius Harris, a friend of Swanson’s, doesn’t live in the neighborhood but dropped by to lend moral support.

“It’s a good reminder,” Harris, who’s Black, says. “It reminds me what my parents and grandparents went through. The freedoms are in place, but you’re not necessarily wanted.”

Swanson says the reactions she’s received during her door-to-door campaign have been largely positive, but one resident refused to sign and said, “History is going to repeat itself. Good luck.”

Undeterred, Swanson says she’ll continue the push — she’s also mailing letters to all owners — until she has enough signatures to file the document and officially overturn the racist dictate.

But unfortunately, as Schleiker noted via email recently, though the new petition, when filed, will void the exclusionary rule, “The [1941] covenant is part of the County’s permanent record.”

Swanson (right) maps a strategy with (from left) Si Lyn, Lauren West and Maddison Engel.

ON NOV. 7, VOTERS IN EL PASO County and across the region will elect members to school boards.

The races could shape up to be lively, considering that conservative voters two years ago elected their choices to school boards, some of which have since engaged in banning books and barring teachers from asking students which pronouns they prefer.

The Indy asked candidates in the two largest districts — Academy School District 20 and Colorado Springs School District 11 — to answer five questions in writing.

In D20, voters will have a choice from four candidates vying for two seats. Both incumbents, Will Temby and Heather Cloninger, are seeking second terms and will face challengers Amy Shandy and Derrick Wilburn, who did not respond to the Indy ’s questionnaire.

Shandy’s and Wilburn’s registered agent is Joel Sorensen, who’s been associated with conservative dark money in the past. Even if the incumbents prevail, the five-member D20 board will remain in the hands of a majority with conservative viewpoints.

Not up for re-election this term are Nicole Konz, Thomas LaValley and Aaron Salt who were installed in 2021 with the help of conservative dark money.

D11 voters will select four members, a majority of the seven-member board. Three of four incumbents are running: Board Chair Parth Melpakam, Vice Chair Jason Jorgenson and Darleen Daniels. Al Loma is not seeking another term.

Challengers include, in alphabetical order, Thomas Carey, Mary Coleman, Shayana Dabney, Jill Haffley, Jeremiah Johnson, Jason Jorgenson, Kelly Leaverton, Rachel Paul and Kathryn Singh. Leaverton didn’t respond to the Indy’s questionnaire, and his campaign finance record shows his campaign is “inactive.”

In the 2021 election, voters flipped the D11 board from a liberal majority to a 5-2 conservative majority by electing Loma (for a two-year term), Sandra Bankes and Lauren Nelson, who joined Jorgenson and Melpakam to form the 5-2 majority. Bankes, Nelson and Julie Ott have two more years on their terms.

Thus, control of the D11 board is up for grabs.

It’s unclear whether the conservative dark money groups will be involved this go-round. Springs Opportunity Fund, a conservative, Republican-connected independent expenditure committee, spent

BY PAM ZUBECK | zubeck@csindy.com

$180,000 promoting slates of candidates in D20, D11 and School District 49 two years ago.

That money came from Colorado Springs Forward, a 501(c)4 that doesn’t have to report its source of funding unless donors specify their contributions are to be earmarked for electioneering, thus earning the label “dark money.”

Neither Springs Opportunity Fund nor Colorado Springs Forward have given money to school board candidates in this election cycle so far, records show. Here are the Indy ’s questions, and the candidates’ responses, starting with D20 and followed by D11. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order, and incumbents are identified with an asterisk (*).

1. What is the foremost issue facing the district and what will you do about it in your first 30 days in office?

2. What role should DEI programs and training play in the district — for teachers, staff and students?

3. What’s your position when it comes to the inclusion and accommodation of LGBTQ+ students?

4. Explain your approach to demands to remove certain books from school libraries.

5. What’s your position on teaching the ways racism has impacted United States history and culture? Responses have not been edited.

HEATHER CLONINGER , 49, has attended college and is a stay-at-home mom who currently serves on the D20 board as treasurer. | heatherforasd20.com

On the foremost issue: We need to help each student maximize their achievement. Our mission is, “We educate and inspire students to thrive.” We expect our students to be prepared to graduate and be ready to advance to their next step, as they define it. Whether pursuing higher education, a trade, or directly entering the work force, we are committed to their success. I realize this requires policies being in place to ensure we retain exceptional teachers, encourage collaboration and transparency with parents and work closely with our new Superintendent. I plan to engage and align all stakeholders to achieve our best student outcome.

On DEI programs: DEI programs and training are essential to our district and our combined goal of

student achievement. When DEI is understood and implemented correctly, it encourages students and staff to have more empathy & respect for others. It is important to recognize that our district can be strengthened as we create an environment of unity by celebrating each other’s unique perspectives. Our strategic plan is centered on belonging. These programs will inspire our students to be innovative and analytical thinkers, as they leave our district upon graduation.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: Every student in our district matters. As a sitting schoolboard member, I treat each student equally. Our LGBTQ+ students have the right to be treated with respect and dignity. I have proven for the past three and half years that I will advocate for an inclusive curriculum, where all students are represented and feel valued. I am committed to working with families, staff, and students, to find equitable opportunities to ensure that all students feel a sense of belonging. I support comprehensive anti-discrimination policies that prohibit harassment and bullying of any kind.

On removing books: While I am a current D20 Board Member, I am also an involved D20 Parent who is well versed in district policy on this subject. Our district already has policies in place that allow parents to restrict their children from checking out content they deem inappropriate, without impacting the choices that other families make for their children. It is crucial to ensure our libraries offer a diverse range of viewpoints which promotes a better understanding of others. I will make informed decisions that prioritize students’ access to knowledge, fostering intellectual curiosity.

On race in curriculum: I strongly support teaching the impact of racism on U.S. history and culture. It is vital for encouraging our students to have empathy and social responsibility. I advocate for a wellrounded curriculum that tailors age-appropriate discussions and supports open dialogue. This prepares students to navigate complexities and stand against discrimination. By equipping students with accurate knowledge and empathy, we empower them to contribute positively to our diverse society. I am committed to collaborating with educators and community leaders to create an inclusive educational environment that prepares students to be informed and compassionate global citizens.

Candidates vie for local school board spots in Nov. 7 election

D20 CANDIDATES

WILL TEMBY, 65, holds a bachelor’s degree in hotel administration and has served in various corporate roles, including managing partner/ owner of Apprentice Personnel. He served as president and CEO of the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce from 2000 to 2007. He currently serves on the D20 board as vice president. | willtembyford20.com

On the foremost issue: Student achievement. While ASD20 is a high-performing district and has

D11 CANDIDATES

THOMAS CAREY, 33, holds a doctorate degree in chemistry and has taught science at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School for five years. This is his first run for office. | linkedin.com/in/ thomas-carey-588761162

On the foremost issue: The most pressing issue in District 11 is ensuring that focus remains firmly on student educational outcomes. Many educational institutions in recent years have experienced mission creep where they place other goals ahead of the primary mission of any school: academics. I believe that good school board governance solves problems for the employees under them. Drawing from my experience as a teacher, I will seek to collaborate with teachers and staff to identify the major barriers to student academic success and craft a plan to remove those obstacles to enhance educational outcomes for every student.

On DEI program: Diversity, equity, and inclusion are nuanced terms. There are ways in which I support all three: faculty should be trained to assist every student in achieving academic goals and to foster a welcoming environment where all students are treated with respect, recognizing their innate human dignity. There are also ways in which I disagree with how these terms have been operational-

been Accredited with Distinction for 14 consecutive years, we must continue to focus on post-pandemic effects such as learning loss and mastery. It is the board’s role to work with our superintendent and her team to ensure our kids are prepared for post-secondary success — whatever path they choose. We will continue to set achievable and measurable goals to maximize student outcomes.

On DEI programs: I strongly support equity; i.e., making sure every student has the tools they need to succeed. Students will always perform at different levels, but we need to make sure that every child is prepared to learn. Organizations that understand and appreciate diversity of personnel and thought are richer for it in a competitive world. Public education has to take each child as they come, so inclusion is not a buzzword but a reality. I believe school district leadership needs to be aware of and employ good DEI practices, but DEI

departments may not be necessary.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: As stated previously, Inclusion is not optional for public schools. Schools have to meet every child where they are at and ensure that their safety and security is in place so that they are ready to learn. I will always follow the law when it comes to accommodation of any person or group.

On removing books: I will never approve the removal of a library book if it simply offends someone’s political ideology. However, books in school libraries have to be age appropriate, not contain age-inappropriate graphic sexual content or profanity with no redeeming educational value.

On race in curriculum: Kids are smart. They need to be taught unvarnished history to have a full context of history. They can distill and synthesize what they’re being taught, talk about it with parents, guardians, teachers and/or friends and determine where they stand on issues and history. Knowledge is power.

ized: for example, I do not support school districts cutting funding for advanced coursework in the name of equity. Finally, as a steward of taxpayer resources, I would evaluate any training program to see if outcomes are commensurate with costs.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: All students deserve a respectful, welcoming learning environment where they can unlock their potential and reach academic goals. Students should never be discriminated against on the basis of sex or sexual orientation. Accommodation policies require a thoughtful approach; every student and situation is different. The teenage years in particular frequently involve intense developmental changes and schools should be sensitive to that fact while keeping parents involved. With respect to other accommodations, I do believe that female-only spaces should be designated in reference to biological sex and policy touching on deeply held values should always involve the parents and the community.

On removing books: School libraries should have a collections policy supporting the learning objectives of the curriculum and contain books appealing to diverse interests to foster a love of reading in all students. Libraries as storehouses of ideas will always be a target for ideological disagreements, and so it is appropriate for parents and the community to have a say in all school policies, particularly ones related to values. I am not convinced that any

blanket policy will be able to handle the nuance of adult matters that high-schoolers are exposed to and believe such matters should be handled on a case-by-case basis.

On race in curriculum: The history of the US is crucially important to understanding the present, and that includes our triumphs as well as our mistakes. Schools should teach that considering some races or ethnicities inferior or superior is an offense against human dignity. It is also appropriate to teach that automatically considering certain races or ethnicities as inherently oppressed or oppressive is an offense against the rights of each individual student. Every student should be treated with respect as an individual rather than merely a member of a group.

MARY COLEMAN , 41, holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCCS and has studied public and executive leadership at Harvard Business School. Formerly with Centura Health, she works as a health care administrator for Oak Street Health. She was appointed in 2016 to the D11 school board and was elected in 2017 to fill the unexpired four-year term. marycoleman719.wixsite.com/website

On the foremost issue: From 2016-2020, I had the honor to serve as a D11 School Board Director with mission-aligned leaders. Since that time, I believe that politics have taken hold of Boards of Education, and D11 is not immune to this trend. I will restore civility to the boardroom.

D11 has been plagued by inconsistencies in outcomes across schools in our community. All schools should have access to resources that support stabiliz-

ing those outcomes. A child’s zip code should not determine their ability to succeed. This will always be my focus.

On DEI programs: All students regardless of race, zip code, family structure, income, sex, disability, identity, etc. deserve the same chance to be successful through their hard work. Public education leaders must design systems that support all students to achieve at the top of their potential. Terms like DEI have been weaponized by adults in our vocabulary. In some instances those words have even been re-defined for political agenda. At its core DEI is inclusion and should equate to growing mutual respect and compassion, which I support for teachers, staff, and students.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: LGBTQ+ students are some of our most vulnerable and at-risk for suicide, which continues to spiral out of control across El Paso County among youth. As a board director, I had the opportunity to witness the challenges these students encounter through their aca-

SHAYANA DABNEY, 24, holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and history. She’s served as program operations manager at Citizens Project for 10 months. This is her first run for elective office. | shayford11.com

On the foremost issue: The foremost issue facing the district currently are the achievement gaps between and across schools. I will address this in the first 30 days by first determining and analyzing where the discrepancies occur to identify common needs and causes.

demic journey. I always have been, and remain committed to, ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all students. I believe it is our job as leaders to create safe spaces where students can thrive and achieve academic success.

On removing books: I do not believe in banning books from schools. I believe that freedom to access information is a core foundation of democracy. Thoughtful and intentional listening sessions, to explore different perspectives on the issues, should occur following the existing process. The school board cannot, and should not, unilaterally ban books.

On race and curriculum: United States history should be taught in an age-appropriate manner aligned with the truth and facts of how our nation was formed. We must build a better, more civil, and more stable nation and we cannot do so while putting blinders on the past. Additionally, as a mom to two children, we would be kidding ourselves to think kids don’t understand these topics already. Rather than hiding the American past, including racism, we must shed light on the rights and wrongs of human behavior historically in order to not repeat the past.

On DEI programs: DEI programs and training should be integral for all parties — the world we all share is diversely populated and as a result we all need to learn to engage with people from different backgrounds in a way that honors everyone.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: EVERY student deserves to have an inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment to foster their learning, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

On removing books: My approach to demands to remove books from school libraries is to empower parents to be active with their children as it pertains to the books and literature they consume — parents can choose what their children read on an individual basis.

On race in curriculum: I believe that it is important to teach accurate history so that we all can have an understanding of the circumstances that created the world we currently live in.

DARLEEN DANIELS, 54, earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design. She worked as a substitute teacher in several local school districts. Her second run for a D11 seat, in 2019, was successful. reelectdarleendaniels.com

On the foremost issue: I am in my fourth year of service on District 11’s School Board. My first 30 days was all about seeking first to understand then be understood. The foremost issue facing the school district is the backlog of capital improvement projects. We are dialoguing about various areas needing updates, face lifts, modernization and restoration for the oldest functioning District in Colorado Springs. Whether it’s done in 30 days or 4 years, I will remain involved in the district for its health and wellbeing and ushering it into the 21st Century for students, staff and community for another 150 years.

On DEI programs: DEI will continuously play an extremely important role. District 11 is the most diverse school district in Colorado Springs. We have the most diverse students, staff, and volunteer com-

munity populations in the city. They represent over 80 countries; includes Deaf and Blind, Adaptive needs, Gifted and Talented, and English Language Learners; first, second and third generation families; UCCS, Colorado College; and they enjoy diverse foods, cultures, traditions and more. It’s virtually impossible not to have DEI programs and trainings. It has been a major complaint that the city does not have enough programs and trainings we need to address that.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: On May 20, 2021, Colorado H.B. 21-1108 was signed into law expanding prohibitions against discrimination. The law calls out the need to protect all regardless of “disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, or ancestry” in all places of public accommodation, including schools. I do not seek to elevate my opinions and feelings over the law. I will not exercise discrimination upon the LGBTQ+ students. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I am going to keep the main thing, the main thing — ALL KIDS. On removing books: Follow the law, rules, regulations, guidelines, and policies, put in place. The District is governed by policies one must follow for any demands. I follow what the Local, State, and Federal

Governments have expressed and demonstrated since the founding of this country. I come along side organizations to assist in their mission and vision. My goal and approach is to seek first to understand then be understood. Put first things first, serve ALL KIDS and get the politics out of our schools.

On race in curriculum: As a public-school graduate from Louisiana, I have always known history in public schools did not and would not teach how racism has impacted United States history and culture. Students, staff and community members don’t want all the politics in their schools. They don’t want their elected leaders getting distracted with all the noise. They want children to be taught a complete and honest history. They want to get back to basic core skills and knowledge about facts, safety and wellness to prepare ALL KIDS for their future. “Keep the main thing, the main thing” — Dr Kenneth Burnley [former D11 superintendent].

The Indy ’s previous coverage of Darleen Daniels includes:

• D11 Superintendent Dr. Michael Thomas out, district in disarray (March 9, 2022)

• D11 dissolves Department of Equity and Inclusion (April 7, 2022)

D11 CANDIDATES

JILL HAFFLEY, 55, holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in sport administration. She retired from teaching after 30 years. This is her first run for office. electjillhaffley.com

On the foremost issue: The foremost issue facing D11 is that many of our students are not performing academically at grade level. While the district has made tremendous strides in recent years,

JEREMIAH JOHNSON, 40, has studied networking and security, and aerospace propulsion, is an Air Force veteran, and currently serves as IT administrator for D11. He’s served three terms as president of the Colorado Springs Association of School Executives. jeremiahjohnsonforboe.com

On the foremost issue: Student and staff safety, and Academic Rigor are my main priorities.

I believe the idea that one individual can step in

JASON JORGENSON, 38, earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. He serves as a financial adviser and has taught middle school science. | facebook.com/jasonjorgensonford11schoolboard

On the foremost issue: Effective school governance requires the intentional inclusion of diverse populations and viewpoints to support and strengthen decision-making. Dedicated DEI programs and training should not play a large role in the district as this board and district have put equity into action, rather than just paying lip service to it. For example, with our “dial-in” support under superintendent Michael Gaal, 8 of our 17 at-risk schools on the state watch list last year are now off the list, with some schools jumping 2 to 3 places up the rankings. [Editor’s note: D11 cut the number of schools on the list from 17 to 8 in the last year.]

On DEI programs: As the board directs policy, so have we supported safe learning environments for all students. The board and I intentionally focus on parent/guardian roles in their student’s lives

we have a long way to go. I believe ensuring that money is kept as close to individual students as possible, increasing pay for our teachers, and strengthening the district’s relationship with the community are vital pieces toward improving student achievement.

On DEI programs: I don’t believe DEI programs have a place in D11. As a teacher, I was committed to treating kids equally regardless of who they were or where they came from. That commitment doesn’t need a buzzword or a DEI program. The way to do best by students is through improving academic achievement in the district for all students.

and fix the largest issues facing our public education system in 30 days is naive. The first 30 days in office should be spent identifying your priorities for the next four to eight years. How best to support our educators to improve academic outcomes. Where resource allocation is most needed to achieve that goal, and how best to improve and maintain school safety for staff and students.

On DEI programs: My purpose in running for

on such sensitive and personal topics like this that our minors navigate while attending school, ensuring they have all the support possible.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: As the board directs policy, so have we supported safe learning environments for all students. The board and I intentionally focus on parent/ guardian roles in their student’s lives on such sensitive and personal topics like this that our minors navigate while attending school, ensuring they have all the support possible.

On removing books: I am aware of certain books that our schools currently have in our libraries that are age-level inappropriate. I am adamant about protecting the innocence of our younger readers and doing what is best to ensure they aren’t exposed to inappropriate material. Inappropriate content should either be removed or placed in a “parent’s only” section where parents must be present to check out those books.

On race in curriculum: Racism has played a role in US history and culture, and we should teach its historical impacts in alignment with state standards. George Washington said in 1790, “…our new Gov-

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: Every single student has a place within a public school. Schools should foster a safe learning environment to focus on academics and ensure all students have the same opportunities to learn alongside their peers.

On removing books: Books must be age-appropriate and in accordance with district policy.

On race in curriculum: I taught U.S. History in D11 for nearly 30 years. I believe that teachers and the district have a responsibility to present the facts of history candidly and without impressing our own personal beliefs or biases. Likewise, the curriculum should be fact-based, and not intended to push modern political narratives on students.

school board is to focus on academic achievement and student and staff safety.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: My purpose in running for school board is to focus on academic achievement and student and staff safety.

On removing books: Without knowing exactly what books you are asking about I cannot provide a complete answer. Providing age appropriate academic resources is critical to a quality education.

On race in curriculum: My purpose in running for school board is to focus on academic achievement and student and staff safety.

ernment seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness.” With its known and taught “black eyes” throughout its history, there is no other country on earth that provides a better opportunity for any individual to have a successful life and happiness. Curriculum should address the positive impact that our nation has made in the world, its peace through strength resolve, and our resolute military service people.

The Indy’s previous coverage of Jason Jorgenson includes the following:

• Opinion: D11’s not-so-cunning plan (Feb. 16, 2022)

• Handful of citizens calls for recall of D11 board member (Feb. 21, 2022)

• Jorgenson, Loma face backlash, calls for reprimand (Feb. 24, 2022)

• Opinion: D11: Don’t give up the ship (March 2, 2022)

• D11 Superintendent Dr. Michael Thomas out, district in disarray (March 9, 2022)

• D11 struggles with conflict over diversity, reprimands (March 10, 2022)

• Opinion: Take a seat: The right’s power grab (March 30, 2022)

• D11 dissolves Department of Equity and Inclusion (April 7, 2022)

PARTH MELPAKAM, 55, holds a doctorate degree in chemical and petroleum engineering and works under a contract for Reservoir Evaluation & Production Optimization. He’s the current D11 board chair. facebook.com/ParthMelpakamforD11

On the foremost issue: Serving as the School Board President, I have seen the district turn the corner and improve this past year. The foremost issue is continuing to improve student outcomes. In one year, the district moved from being ranked the 158th of 178 school districts in Colorado to 79th. We reduced the number of school districts on the state watchlist from 15 to 8. [Editor’s note: D11 cut the number of schools on the list from 17 to 8 in the last year.] There is more work ahead of us to ensure every student is grade-level proficient. I will continue to advocate taxpayer dollars are invested directly in the classrooms to prioritize student success, staff investment, and community engagement.

On DEI programs: I am committed to ensuring true educational equity by providing ALL students with opportunities to grow, thrive, and reach their full academic potential. I am determined to supporting ALL staff with quality professional development that will advance educational excellence in classrooms. On the school board, we approved

targeted wrap-around support to our disadvantaged schools, expanded free after-school programs to benefit working families, and leveraged community partnerships to add student supports. The Mitchell Promise Scholarship, for example, assured two years of free education at Pikes Peak State College. If re-elected, I will continue to build upon that work.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: In my first term on the Board, I was committed to fostering a welcoming school culture in which all students, including LGBTQ+ students, feel valued and respected. Board policies clearly do not tolerate discrimination, bullying, threats, and/or harassment of any kind on our campuses. I will continue to work to ensure a safe and secure school environment conducive to excellence in teaching and learning.

On removing books: Board policies and regulations provide the structure and step-by-step guidance for the adoption, acquisition, and reconsideration of educational resources, including library books. I am firmly committed to a fully transparent process where parents, staff, and the public have the opportunities and voice to review content related to the education of our students. As a Board Director, I fully accept my responsibility in ensuring instructional and library resources available to our students are appropriate, factual, and meet the needs of the curriculum.

On race in curriculum: As an immigrant, I have a great appreciation for America and the opportunities this country has afforded me. I firmly believe that it is through quality education and strong work ethic that America’s blessings can become accessible to our future generations. I support the factually accurate teaching of America’s incredible yet imperfect history in our classrooms. It is equally important to teach civics education to our students, thereby preparing them to be engaged and productive citizens. Serving on the school board, I advocated and passed policies to ensure classrooms are impartial learning environments, free of ideological and political advocacy.

The Indy’s previous coverage of Parth Melpakam includes the following:

• D11 loses Superintendent Michael Thomas in “mutual separation agreement” (March 2, 2022)

• D11: Don’t give up the ship (March 2, 2022)

• D11 Superintendent Dr. Michael Thomas out, district in disarray (March 9, 2022)

• Parents and a national foundation claim board members in D11, D20 and D49 are pushing religion (March 30, 2022)

| rachelpaulford11.com

RACHEL PAUL , 61, holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in special education. She’s worked in Miami/Yoder School District, Edison School District and Ellicott School District as a special education teacher, athletic director and principal. She’s currently with the Colorado Department of Education working in educator effectiveness. This is her first run for office.

On the foremost issue: Meeting the unique needs of all students is the foremost issue facing schools today. When all students are engaged through personalized learning, maximizing resources and strong staff that understands the needs of the individual, they thrive. In my experience as Principal, I succeeded by setting the example of inclusivity and supporting teachers as they supported students. In my first 30 days I will be getting to know administrators and talking through the impact of staff shortages and how we can address those to make sure students are not overlooked, particularly in the

most understaffed area, Special Education.

On DEI programs: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs should create an environment where all students have a sense of belonging and an inherent value within that environment. Curriculum should include diverse perspectives and accuracy, so that students can learn to think critically within a historical context. Teachers need to be instructed and coached on how to create these contextual classrooms that encourage discourse and deep learning within a collaborative environment. The job of a school is to prepare learners to enter a world that becomes more diverse everyday. It is our responsibility as educators to fill this important role.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: Students are facing an unprecedented mental health crisis, they need to feel safe at school and valued for who they are. Anti-Bullying, Anti-Discrimination Policies are critical to protect all student populations. Staff need training specific to LGBTQ+ students so they are better equipped to handle their specific needs. The Colorado State Standards include LGBTQ+ perspectives in history and should be included in school curriculum. Diversity should be celebrated throughout the school environment and culture. Discrimination should not be tolerated or accepted

at any level for any students. I believe all students should be accommodated and included.

On removing books: I am against book banning. Children should be given access to books with diverse perspectives and ideas. We need to help students develop the critical thinking skills to navigate what is appropriate and inappropriate especially since they have unfiltered access to content on the Internet. Diverse content in a library is necessary for students to have an opportunity to explore many areas of interest and value. Accessing books from libraries is a valuable way students can gain knowledge and build critical life-skills.

On race in curriculum: Schools should teach an honest and accurate curriculum. In my years as a principal, it was a great joy to see students graduate with not only an excellent education but also a passion for making the world a better place and practicing good citizenship. We can promote a positive future by understanding our past and how systemic racism has impacted the way the world is today. Students need to engage in intellectual discourse with their fellow students and staff in order to better understand their own perspective and how their perspective will impact their future and their country’s future.

continued on p. 10 ➔

D11 CANDIDATES

➔ continued from p. 9

KATHRYN SINGH, 42, earned a bachelor’s degree and works for the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. This is her first run for office. | facebook.com/kathryn.ruth

On the foremost issue: The district is not meeting the needs of its students. This month, many parents of children with IEPs were given notice that those agreements were not being met. In my first 30 days, I would like to bolster community relationships so we can ensure some of our most vulnerable students are able to access the basic services to which they are entitled.

On DEI programs: DEI training should be mandatory for teachers and staff. DEI programs should assess needs across the district and provide guidance as to where resources are most needed and why so that the district can make informed decisions in order to meet the unique needs of each and every student.

On inclusion of LGBTQ+ students: Every student should feel included and should have access to necessary accommodation. Full stop. LGBTQ+ students

are protected by law. Their rights and their safety must be protected.

On removing books: I will not support the removal of any books from school libraries. We owe it to our children to learn critical thinking skills, to understand the world around them and their part in it. We’re not removing the internet — so it seems silly to try to remove a book.

On race and curriculum: My position on this topic is that I acknowledge that racism has impacted our country and its culture. Moving forward, let’s teach history. Let’s teach culture. Let’s appreciate each other for the ideas we share and the issues on which we differ.

KELLY LEAVERTON His campaign is listed as inactive on the state’s website. GARY MORRISH Withdrew

CREEK WEEK TURNS 10

Fountain Creek’s annual watershed cleanup runs Sept. 30-Oct. 8

BY NICK RAVEN | nick@csindy.com

AS THE LOCAL POPULATION INcreases, garbage accumulates in evergrowing quantities along Fountain Creek, disrupting the ecosystem and looking like, well, trash.

To help keep it clean, every fall the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District puts on the Creek Week Cleanup, a now nine-day event where teams of volunteers descend upon the creek — from Palmer Lake to Pueblo — equipped with tools, training and a mutual commitment to improve the environment. Last year alone, volunteers removed 11½ tons of garbage from the watershed, for a total of 140 tons of trash, litter and debris that Creek Week efforts have removed over the past decade.

“It’s a really fun and exciting way to bring people together,” says Hannah Mooney, watershed outreach coordinator with the district. “Over the last nine years, we’ve seen thousands of volunteers come out and help us clean up the watershed. I think it’s the most easy and tangible way that we can make a difference very quickly.”

Hannah

Creek Week’s 10th anniversary theme revolves around being “impactful.” Partnering with Concrete Coyote and the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance, letters made of chicken wire spelling out “Impactful” will be filled with trash to highlight the amount of garbage being removed. The final work will be displayed Oct. 4 in America the Beautiful Park as part of Arts Month’s Pikes Peak Litter Letter Project. But Creek Week goes beyond those nine days of cleaning up trash from the watershed — the district will

also join forces with groups like Guardians of Palmer Park, who will work with volunteers to install timber check dams to control erosion and reinforce trails. Alongside Concrete Coyote, they’re also spreading mycelium spores to break down pollutants in the soil. In Pueblo’s Confluence Park, volunteers can help remove invasive plants and seed native ones.

Highlighting the fact that 90 percent of beer is water, 17 members of the Fountain Creek Brewshed Alliance collaborated on a special edition “Impactful IPA.” A dollar from every pint sold goes to support the district and its water outreach initiatives.

So how can you get involved in Creek Week’s cleanup opportunities from Sept. 30 through Oct. 8? Start by navigating over to tinyurl.com/fountcrk-23 and checking out the interactive map. There, the watershed is broken up into geographic zones where you can sign up as a crew leader or crew member. Leaders do an hour-long

training covering safety and protocol while in the field. As a member, you can pick an area and indicate which date and time you’d like to participate.

“The district provides all of the materials and supplies,” Mooney says. “We have bags, gloves, trash grabbers, buckets and sharps containers. We really want to make it as easy and accessible for people as possible.”

When all the work is done, Creek Week volunteers — from this year and the past nine — will gather at Brewshed Alliance member Red Leg Brewing Company from 1 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 22 for a last hurrah and presentation thanking the volunteers and recognizing the work that has made the creek cleaner and safer.

“When it comes to environmentalism and sustainability, there are so many big issues that feel so beyond us and so hard to reach,” Mooney says. “Going out there with some loved ones, making camaraderie and doing your part is something that we all can do.”

Going out there with some loved ones, making camaraderie and doing your part is something that we all can do.

—

Mooney

2023’s Litter Letter Project word will be “Impactful” (following priceless, respect, resilient, pristine and inspire).

Courtesy Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District

THE

PLAYING AROUND

lockdown. Also weighing in on the decision was Son Volt’s newly recruited guitarist John Herndon, whose previous band The Bottle Rockets had already covered much of that ground on their 2002 Songs of Sahm album.

SON VOLT @ Lulu’s Downstairs

WITH NEARLY A DOZen critically acclaimed albums under their belts, Americana standardbearers Son Volt have earned the right to take a nostalgic, if somewhat belated, victory lap with their current tour’s track-bytrack renditions of the group’s 1995 debut album Trace. But that will be just half of the repertoire when the band returns to Manitou on Sept. 30. Much of the remainder will be devoted to the music of Doug Sahm, whose songs they cover on their recently released Day of the Doug album.

Unlike most tribute albums, Son Volt’s homage to the irascible Tex-Mex icon steers clear of the more obvious tunes, which in Sahm’s case would range from seminal garage-rock classics like the Sir Douglas Quintet’s “She’s About a Mover” to his string of hit singles with Freddy Fender, Flaco Jiménez and Augie Meyers in Texas Tornados.

Instead, the band leaned heavily into deep-catalog material from The Complete Mercury Masters, a five-album retrospective that bandleader Jay Farrar listened to endlessly during the COVID-imposed

As the scratchy answering machine messages that open and close the album suggest, Farrar also had a personal connection to Sahm that dates back to his days with Jeff Tweedy in the pioneering alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. While recording tracks for their Anodyne album at Austin’s Cedar Creek Studio, they invited Sahm into the studio to provide guest vocals for a cover version of his “Give Back the Keys to My Heart,” and the two musicians continued to stay in touch up until the patriarch of Texas country-rock’s passing in 1999. “Whenever Son was coming through Austin,” Farrar told music writer Tom Lanham, “Doug would show up and sing a song or two and then ride off into the sunset.”

Based on recent tour setlists, fans can also expect (but are not guaranteed) to hear a handful of non-Trace Son Volt songs, as well as covers like Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” The Band’s “The Weight” and, if luck holds out, Uncle Tupelo’s “Chickamauga.” — Bill Forman

Son Volt, with Peter Bruntnell, Saturday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m., Lulu’s Downstairs, 107 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs, $25-$100, all-ages, lulusdownstairs.com; video: tinyurl.com/SonVolt-Lulus

WEDNESDAY, 9/20

Acoustic Hour, local musicians; 6 p.m., Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort, bicycleresort.com.

Countywyde, bluegrass; 6:30 p.m., Front Range Barbeque, frbbq.com/events.

Brandon Henderson Band, acoustic/ alt-rock ; 6:30 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

Nube Nueve, Latin Jazz; John Wise & Tribe, New Orleans R&B/blues/ jazz/island; Westrock, country rock ; 6 p.m., Hillside Gardens, hillsidecolorado.com/upcoming-events.

Restraining Order, hardcore punk , with Gumm, Public Opinion, Pressure Drop; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

THURSDAY, 9/21

Barely Garcia, Garcia/Dead covers ; 9 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

Ezra Bell, indie folk , with the Charlie Milo Trio; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com.

Lamb Bed, hard rock , with Dirty Kings, Elevated Sickness, Penny Lane; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks. com.

Drake Milligan, country ; 7 p.m., Boot

Barn Hall, bootbarnhallco.com.

Jonathan Powell Quartet, jazz ; 7:30 p.m., Summa, dizzycharlies.com.

Soul School, variety ; 6 p.m., Creekwalk, creekwalkcos.com.

Travis Tritt, country, with Cody Cozz; 7 p.m., Pueblo Memorial Hall, Pueblo, pueblomemorialhall.com.

FRIDAY, 9/22

Beppe Gambetta, guitarist/ vocalist/ composer ; 7 p.m., Black Forest Community Center, blackroseacoustic.org. Bernie Brink Trio, jazz ; 7 p.m., Summa, dizzycharlies.com.

Blue Frog Full-on Orchestra, multigenre; 9 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, mani-

Returning to Manitou Springs to close out September

Mariachi Herencia de México is playing the Ent Center Tuesday evening.

touarmadilloranch.com.

Collective Groove, funk/soul ; 7 p.m., Stargazers Theatre, stargazerstheatre. com.

Eternal Temples, reggae/rock/space funk/jam fusion ; 7:30 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

Last Men on Earth, classic rock ; 7 p.m., Boot Barn Hall, bootbarnhallco.com.

Lucidelic, genre-bending Springs band; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Mapache, jam-folk ; 8 p.m., Lulu’s, lulusdownstairs.com.

SOAPDISH, cover band; 6 p.m., ViewHouse, tinyurl.com/soapdish-vh.

John Spengler, singer-songwriter, 6 p.m., Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort, bicycleresort.com.

WAR, funk/rock/soul; 7:30 p.m., Pikes Peak Center, pikespeakcenter.com.

SATURDAY, 9/23

Autumn Equinox Celebration, “flute, guitar and a sound bath”; 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., Singing Bowls of the Rock-

ies, singingbowlsoftherockies.com. The Black Rose Band, country/rock ; 6 p.m., Whiskey Baron Dance Hall, tinyurl.com/whisk-dh.

Home Is Where, emo, with Awakebutstillinbed, Your Arms Are My Cocoon; 6 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com.

Interrobang, alt-rock/grunge/funk , 6 p.m., Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort, bicycleresort.com.

Fred Mascherino, The Color Fred/ExTaking Back Sunday, with Brandon Metz, Gloomy; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Charlie Milo Band, multigenre; 9 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

Music on the Mesa Fall Festival: Hickabee, Harry Mo and The Cru; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Gold Hill Mesa Community Center, goldhillmesa.com/community-life/ events.

Redraw the Farm, Americana; 7:30 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

Zeppelin Alive!, “classic Zep from the whole catalog” ; 7:30 p.m., Buzzed Crow Bistro, buzzedcrowbistro.com.

BIG GIGS

Upcoming music events

SUNDAY, 9/24

Agent Orange, punk/surf power trio, with Spice Pistols; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Charlie Milo’s Hip-hop Is Dead, blues; 1-4 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

Traditional Irish music; 3 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

MONDAY, 9/25

On the Brink, “genre-bending trio” ; 6 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

TUESDAY, 9/26

Afroman, rap, with DJ Chris Diablo, Affliction Music, Anwar Mercury, Presley Marley, TCKChris, D Lo, ShaneAthan; 7:30 p.m., Lulu’s, lulusdownstairs.com. Ballyhoo!, reggae/punk , with Jimmie’s Chicken Shack; 6:30 p.m., Brues Alehouse, Pueblo, bruesalehouse.com.

The FABBA Show, ABBA tribute; 7:30 p.m., Pueblo Memorial Hall, Pueblo, pueblomemorialhall.com.

Feelin’ Good, ’60s/’70s covers; 6 p.m., Bancroft Park, tinyurl.com/classictues.

Mariachi Herencia de México, “a night of virtuosic Mexican music and culture”; 7 p.m., Ent Center for the Arts, tinyurl.com/Mariachi-Ent.

WEDNESDAY, 9/27

Attila, metalcore, with Gideon, ten56.,

Until I Wake, Devil’s Cut, Fighting the Phoenix ; 5:30 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Al Chesis, blues ; 7 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

Grass It Up, bluegrass; 6:30 p.m., Front Range Barbeque, frbbq.com/events.

Pikes Peak Jazz Guitar Summit: Jazz guitarist Joel Harrison, with Gary Versace (piano), Gregory Tardy (bass), EJ Strickland (drums) and top regional guitarists; 6-9 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

SofaKillers, covers; John Wise & Tribe, New Orleans R&B/blues/jazz/island; Brandon Henderson, singer-songwriter ; 6 p.m., Hillside Gardens, hillsidecolorado.com/upcoming-events.

THURSDAY, 9/28

John Adams Band, John Denver tribute; 7 p.m., Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts, trilakesarts.org.

Big Richard, bluegrass/country/pop, with The Cody Sisters; 8 p.m., Lulu’s, lulusdownstairs.com.

Blackthorn, traditional Celtic ; 7 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

Folk ’n’ Flannel Festival, live music by Colorado bands/UpaDowna fundraiser, through Oct. 1, Buffalo Lodge, see tinyurl.com/FnF-fest for more info. Steve Langemo Trio, jazz ; 7:30 p.m., Summa, dizzycharlies.com.

Dizzy Wright, rap, with Jarren Benton & Demrick; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine, Boulder Theater, Boulder, Sept. 20

Sting, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Sept. 20-21

Bandalos Chinos, Bluebird Theater, Denver, Sept. 21

The Walkmen, Ogden Theatre, Denver, Sept. 21

Flux Pavilion, The Church Nightclub, Denver, Sept. 21

Local Natives, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Sept. 21

Mapache, Lulu’s, Sept. 22

DJ Javi, Boulder Theater, Boulder, Sept. 22

LuciDelic, Black Sheep, Sept. 22

WAR, Pikes Peak Center, Sept. 22

Chevelle, Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, Sept. 23

Coheed and Cambria, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Sept. 23

Daniel Donato, Fox Theatre, Boulder, Sept. 23

Kamauu, Bluebird Theater, Denver, Sept. 23

Fred Mascherino, Black Sheep, Sept. 23

Los Temerarios, Ball Arena, Denver, Sept. 23

MicheFest, National Western Complex, Denver, Sept. 23

Wildermiss, Infinity Park, Denver, Sept. 23

Yo La Tengo, Boulder Theater, Boulder, Sept. 23

Cut Chemist, Levitt Pavilion, Denver, Sept. 23

Agent Orange, Black Sheep, Sept. 24

Coco Montoya, Soiled Dove Underground, Denver, Sept. 24

Louis the Child, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Sept. 23-24 Continued at csindy.com

Argentine rockers Bandalos Chinos will play Denver’s Bluebird Theater on Sept. 21.

Kaloian/Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación

Celebrating 26 Years!

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INDVSTRY VIDEO BAR SAYS “LET’S DANCE!”

INDVSTRY VIDEO BAR OPENED FRIDAY, AUG. 25, IN THE FORMER Gold Room at 18 S. Nevada Ave. (instagram.com/indvstryvideobar). It’s an ambitious project brought to us by Jae Cho, who 3½ years ago opened Dozo Sushi (1606 S. Eighth St.), which is highly regarded by many industry peers and local sushi fans. You may remember Cho’s name from my Indy reporting last fall, when he became a firebrand — earning legend status from some, infuriating others — for fighting back against negative online commenters.

Considering Cho concluded our chat back then by saying “I’ll defend every restaurateur in every city everywhere,” it should be no surprise to hear he’s a passionate person. When I sat down with him last month for a sneak peek at Indvstry Video Bar, his enthusiasm was palpable. He shared ambitious visions for how he’d like to contribute to “revitalizing” C. Springs’ scene, saying that pre-pandemic his goal was to open a new business every two years. “I feel we’re a bit stagnant and aren’t growing in the way we should be,” he said. (That echos a theme we hammer at in my State of Plate podcast; listen to it at csindy.com.) “I want to expand the Springs in a positive way.”

Well, rather than write a negative online review to the city, Cho decided to invest in doing something about it. He didn’t disclose how much he’s spent to launch Indvstry, but it’s clear to me that it was not inexpensive to improve the former Gold Room. He’s added a new staircase off the dance floor to the upstairs bar and lounging areas; the floors have been redone; and lots of other little touches have given the historic Art Deco-style space a fresh, chic feel.

Condensed from my long talk with Cho, here’s what you need to know for now, and what’s ahead:

• Indvstry is open daily: 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., opening at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Find happy hours from 3 to 5 p.m. “I want someone with a birthday on a Monday to be able to celebrate,” Cho says, lamenting how sleepy the Springs is early in the week across town.

• Like to dance? Indvstry has its own sound engineer, on-site DJ and a video editing center. Just like at the roller rink back in the day, you can request your favorite song. All music styles will be highlighted, from EDM to ’80s, ’90s and contemporary. And they’ll be mindful to control volume in select spaces so you won’t have to shout in each other’s ear if you want to retreat to a dark corner for a convo, he says.

• Cho wants to be approachable for common, basic drinks, but the real focus will be on a sophisticated and fun cocktail program. He was a former bartender in the

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MATTHEW SCHNIPER

The former Gold Room wakes up in the 21st century.

Chicago area (winning awards on the competition circuit, he says) and he’s attracting talented local bartenders who he wants to put the spotlight on, including having them teach classes and eventually publish recipes. “I want to help them gain a celebrity status,” he says, noting he would likely fund them for their own endeavors down the road. So far, he’s spotlighted Andrew Alverson (Brooklyn’s on Boulder Street, District Elleven), Mark Anthony Good (Shame & Regret) and Wesley David (coming from Dozo).

• Given his bartending and culinary background, Cho takes a more holistic approach to cocktail creation and he wants to push his staff to experiment and be creative. “Let’s make cocktails different,” he says, noting an Old Fashioned served inside boba pearls on a spoon, almost like an amuse bouche. “I want people to be like, ‘What the fuck is that?’ … We’ll use beakers and bongs… We’ll have carbonated cocktails… Our R&D is going to be big over here and I’ll force my bartenders to go out of their comfort zones… we’ll figure out what’s the next Big Thing… Let’s change the way people think about drinking and make it exciting again.”

• An eventual Phase 3 of Indvstry will bring live performances back, and Cho says Phase 2, which is still months out, will add a café. The plan for it is “highend” pastries, “New York- and L.A.-style,” that will seek out trends to introduce here. Cho says he’s already sent the future pastry chef to train in South Korea. He envisions guests coming for morning hours at Indvstry once that’s up and running, where they can work on their laptops (including those under 21) and enjoy the pastries and drinks with a background of chill, ambient music.

• A speakeasy named Bar Thirty Three (instagram. com/barthirtythree) will open (sometime soonish) in a space underneath Indvstry. It’s not Cho’s, but they’re all friendly and he’s coordinating with them for their guests to exit into his space. Cho views elevating the Springs’ scene as a collaborative, not competitive endeavor. (I’ve made contact and will be reporting on Bar Thirty Three soon.)

• I ask Cho what will happen if someone leaves him a negative review about Indvstry online. Will he follow the Dozo model? “I’ll never deviate from telling the truth,” he says. “I’ll fight tooth and nail to defend my employees.”

R&R COFFEE HAS CLOSED

I’VE TRACKED BARISTA/ROASTER/COFFEE

store owner Ryan Wanner since the very beginning of R&R Coffee Cafe 15 years ago. Back to his original Black Forest location. Over to a short-lived Monument expansion (thanks COVID). Almost to the south of C. Springs to another expansion that failed to take root this past year. I’ve seen the man adapt, pivot and generally fight like hell to stay alive through tough times, while also savoring some sweet times when business boomed. Support for him and the café in the forest has been huge.

So I was a bit shocked to see the announcement last month that he’d be closing his business at 11424 Black Forest Road (where it’s been for 10 years) on Sept. 3. “This is a message I never thought I’d have to write, especially considering how well we have recovered from the pandemic,” he told his followers. You can read a full explanation in his words on R&R’s Facebook page, relating to issues with his landlord, to state it simply. He notes it was not a financial decision and that his roastery will remain operational, serving the general public at the Backyard Market in Black Forest and the Park Union market in Downtown C. Springs.

“My dream of running a coffee shop is not dead; it continued on p. 16 ➔

Indvstry bartenders or mad scientists?

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GERMAN

EDELWEISS RESTAURANT

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For 50 Years Edelweiss has brought Bavaria to Colorado Springs. Using fresh ingredients, the menu invites you to visit Germany. Support local business! We’re open and doing drive-thru and takeout with a limited menu that can be found on our website! www. edelweissrest.com.

SOUTHWESTERN/MEXICAN

JOSÉ MULDOON’S

222 N. TEJON ST. | 719-636-2311 | 5710 S. CAREFREE CR @ POWERS | 719-574-5673

Since 1974. Features authentic Tex-Mex & Mexican fare in contemporary Sante Fe-styled establishment. Across from Acacia Park, and west of Powers & Carefree. Josemuldoons.com. Support local restaurants! We are open for delivery, carry out, and dine-in at both locations! Please check our Facebook page for hours daily, as they are subject to change.

STEAKHOUSE

THE FAMOUS

31 N. TEJON ST. | DOWNTOWN | 719-227-7333

Colorado Springs’ finest upscale steak house and lounge located in the center of downtown. Dine in an elegant and classic steak house environment. Award winning prime steaks, fresh seafood, premium wines, craft brews and piano bar provide a provocative mix of atmosphere and entertainment. Reservations suggested.

MACKENZIE’S CHOP HOUSE

128 S. TEJON ST. HISTORIC ALAMO BUILDING | DOWNTOWN | 719-635-3536

Offering half off all bottles of wine under $100! Voted Best Power Lunch, Steakhouse and Martini! Downtown’s choice for quality meats and mixed drinks. Mackenzieschophouse.com. Open Mon.-Fri. 11:30am-3pm for lunch, and 5pm- close every day for dinner!

PAID ADVERTISEMENT • 719.577.4545

just needs to happen somewhere else now,” he concluded, with a promise to update fans on his social media pages. In a text exchange I had with Wanner, he assured me that Side Dish will be the second to know what’s planned. (The first being his investors. Touché.)

PORK BELLY CINNAMON ROLLS?!?

OK, I SUPPOSE I ONLY HAVE MYSELF TO BLAME. FOR NOT watching more food TV (don’t have time), more TikTok (still don’t have time), etc. I definitely am late hearing about some trending thingy-things on the food front, but I figure what rises to my ears eventually must be the really good stuff sorted from all the inane banter. The cronut de jour, if you will. I mention this because I was easily able to find pork belly cinnamon rolls online once I Googled it. And I only did that because a team competing at late August’s Smokin’ the Ute Pass Summit BBQ Contest (see Facebook page) at Paradox Beer Company served the dish to some of us judges. Chef Victor Matthews of Paragon Culinary School, sitting right across from me, hadn’t heard of the dish either, and we exchanged WTF looks and words of initial skepticism. But then we took a bite.

Damn. Just damn. They nailed it: the perfect fusion of the prized piggy portion and America’s favorite swirly pastry. Basically meat dessert. Minds blown.

I tracked down the team who made the dish. We awarded them first place out of 12 entries in an Open Class category, and they also nabbed the first place People’s Choice award. Not to mention two more firsts, two more seconds and a third place victory in other categories, including brisket, chicken and barbecue sauce. They’re just a bunch of friends who like to barbecue at home — amateurs but obvious experts — and they compete annually as Broad Acre BBQ.

Teammate Chad Douglas, who does cybersecu rity by day, tells me he discovered the pork belly cinnamon rolls on social media and decided to give his own version a go, testing it on family and his pals. He uses Bulleit Bourbon, maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon for his glazing and wraps the belly bits (trimmed of excess fat) in maple bacon, then slow-smokes it all with Competition Blend hardwood pellets. “Everybody loves it, I’ve gotten great feedback,” he says. “We take our food seriously, but we keep it fun. We’ll work hard to do better next year while changing things up.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

• The 26th Annual Downtown Partnership Breakfast (downtowncs.com/event/breakfast) takes place Friday, Sept. 22, at Colorado College’s Ed Robson Arena. Seats are $50 for nonmembers.

• Taste of OCC (see Eventbrite page) returns after a long hiatus (yay!) on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Bancroft Park. Tickets are $40-$50.

• Pizzeria Rustica (2527 W. Colorado Ave., pizzeriarustica.com) hosts a Passport to Piedmont dinner, benefiting the Alpine Autism Center, on Tuesday, Sept. 26. Tickets — available by calling Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits — are $79 for five wine-paired courses.

Matthew Schniper is the former Food & Drink editor and critic at the Indy. You can find expanded food and drink news and reviews at sidedishschnip.substack.com.

Competition winners Broad Acre BBQ

Pork belly cinnamon roll

Your guide to events in the Pikes Peak region CALENDAR

ART EXHIBITS

45º Gallery, 2528 W. Colorado Ave., Suite B, 719-434-1214, 45degreegallery.com. Paintings and prints by Stephanie Moon and wood sculpture by Jim Bradshaw.

Academy Art & Frame Company, 7560 N. Academy Blvd., 719-265-6694, academyframesco.com. September shows: Miniature & Small Works, 12th annual judged show, in conjunction with the inaugural Massive, Big, Huge exhibit.

Anita Marie Fine Art, 109 S. Corona St., 719-493-5623, anitamariefineart.com. Past and Present, works by 30 artists who studied with Chuck Mardosz and Richard Dahlquist. Through September.

The Bridge Gallery, 218 W. Colorado Ave., #104, 719-629-7055, thebridgeartgallery. com. Works by Gary Weston, who uses recycled materials to create 3D pieces inspired by “Leonardo da Vinci and Jules Verne, as well as steampunk, sci-fi and space-age works.” Through September.

Citizens Art Gallery at City Hall, featuring works by multi-media artist Nichole Montanez. City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave., enter through the southeast entrance off Kiowa Street.

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, 30 W. Dale St., 719634-5581, fac.coloradocollege.edu. From Source to Mouth: A Creative Survey of Monument Creek, Erin Elder’s “community-centered creative research project that engages elements of geology, hydrology, ecology, land use, and history, as well as personal memory and sensory awareness to explore the multiple, overlapping, and

sometimes contradictory perspectives about Monument Creek.” Through Nov. 9. “We Don’t Have a River: A Discussion from Many Perspectives” — “Because Colorado Springs augments its local water from intermittently flowing smaller streams by piping water from Pikes Peak and the Western Slope, the city has developed a unique and complex relationship to water. This multidisciplinary panel discussion looks at Monument Creek, the city’s first and primary water way, as a microcosm of larger issues, mindsets, and inequities.” Wednesday, Nov. 8, 5:30 p.m. Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest, with works from the FAC collection; through Feb. 3. FAC museum free days: Oct. 14 and 20.

Commonwheel Artists Co-op, 102 Cañon Ave., Manitou Springs, 719-685-1008, commonwheel.com. Many Shades of Brown — Thomas Conter’s wood creations, all with his signature turquoise inlay. Plenty of Color — paintings by Springs artist Susan Tormoen, who works in pastels, oils and woven tapestry. Through Oct. 2.

Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region, 121 S. Tejon St., #111; facebook.com/ artsculturefun. Mini Rotary Butterflies (see Grand Flight Reveal below) will be on display during office hours through Sept. 22.

G44 Gallery, 121 E. Boulder St., 720-9510573, g44gallery.com. Corey Drieth’s Found Objects: “Inspired by daily life, the natural world, art history and religious traditions such as Zen Buddhism and Quaker Christianity, this work explores contemplative spiritual experience.” Artist talk with Drieth, Ashley Andersen and Gundega Stevens, Thursday, Sept. 21, 5:30 p.m. Through Sept. 29.

Gallery 113, 125½ N. Tejon St., 719-6345299, gallery113cos.com. Teri Homick’s Dark Reveries — “abstract ethereal works on canvas, embellished canvas prints, inlaid wooden boxes and more....”

The Garfield Gallery, 332 E. Willamette Ave., 719-227-8836, garfieldgallery.com. On My Way to See Mother, photography by Jené Jackson — “the story of last summer’s road trip to return to her mother’s grave in Tennessee for the first time in 10 years. A simple trip through the South became a journey into grief, trauma, and family....”

COOL SCIENCE CARNIVAL DAY

Kicks off the 16-day Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival devoted to all things STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) for parents, teachers and kids in grades K-8. Sept. 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; free but registration required at tinyurl.com/cscd-steam; UCCS, 1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy.; tinyurl.com/Coolcarnival. Festival runs through Oct. 15, with 60-plus events scattered all over the Pikes Peak region (full schedule at tinyurl.com/CoolSci-23).

GOCA (Galleries of Contemporary Art, UCCS), Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery, Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave., gocadigital.org. Martha Russo’s Caesura “her sculptural investigations appear at once fragile and potentially dangerous, cautioning one away while hypnotically drawing one in — ever closer — for intimate examination.” Through Dec. 2. Martha Russo visiting artists and critics lecture, Sept. 28, 6 p.m. Memento: Places and Perspectives, works by GOCA’s “talented visual artists, ambitious creatives, and hard-working museum studies majors.” GOCA Project Space in the Ent Center; through Sept. 23.

Grand Flight Reveal, “local artists have been commissioned to design beautiful butterfly and dragonfly garden art and

ART EXHIBIT

“There

Cottonwood Center for the Arts, 427 E. Colorado Ave., 719-520-1899, cottonwoodcenterforthearts.com. I See You, an invitational exhibition with works by three emerging artists — Nitra Olsen, Kumi Thompson and Sophia Rose — in mediums including ceramics, assemblage, painting and more. Through September.

butterfly petite sculptures. The gardensize art will be viewable on the northwest lawn of the Pioneers Museum and the petite sculptures will be on display inside COPPeR [through Sept. 22].” Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St. Hunter-Wolff Gallery, 2510 W. Colorado Ave., 719-520-9494, hunterwolffgallery. com. Featured artist: oil painter Karen Storm.

Kreuser Gallery, 125 E. Boulder St., 719464-5880, kreusergallery.com. Floyd D. Tunson: Figures and Forms, photography and abstract painting including new

works in the artist’s Redlining series — “The devastating economic, educational, environmental, and cultural impact of this insidious practice on people of color is too profound to ignore.” Artist talk Wednesday, Sept. 20, 5:30 p.m. Through Sept. 29.

LightSpeed Curations, 306 S. 25th St., 719-308-8389, lightspeedart.art. A Woman’s Touch, “celebrating 17 local female artists” — Mac Coplin, Jo Carol Ciborowski, Sydney Wilkerson, Vashti Ruiz, Dawna Isham-Pierce, Kimberly Sewell, Sherrie Mitchell, Elizabeth Juvera, Liza Tudor, Jade

continued on p. 18 ➔

Is Still Love in There Somewhere,” Sophia Rose

Courtesy Cool Science Festival

CALENDAR

FOOD TO POWER FALL FESTIVAL

“Good people & good company” and a whole lot more are on offer at Food to Power’s annual fundraiser. The lineup includes silent and live auctions, live music, and food and drink from local farms, restaurants, wineries and breweries (gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options too). Saturday, Sept. 23, 5-8 p.m.; Hillside Hub, 1090 S. Institute St., 719-470-2737, info@foodtopowerco.org, tinyurl.com/FtP-fest23.

➔ continued from p. 17

Doe, Kristy Lorenzen, Sherrie Gibson, Jen Kruse, Rebecca Jones, Ellia Vaga, DollyGirl and Jessica de la Luna.

The Look Up Gallery, 11 E. Bijou St. (inside Yobel), thelookupgallery.com. Fragmented, new works by Yana Fanaro that “play with the multiple emotional experiences I face as a mother, the pieces of myself that are fragmented, out of focus, scattered and blurred.” Through September.

FILM

Legend Has It, Teton Gravity Research’s 28th annual ski and snowboard film. “Come early for athlete poster signings and prize giveaways from partners like Atomic, Volkl, YETI, Sierra Nevada, Tincup Whiskey, and many more.” Thursday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m.; Stargazers Theatre, 10 S. Parkside Drive; stargazerstheatre.com/ upcoming-events.

KIDS & FAMILY

NIGHT LIBRARY AT THE

Saturday, October 21 | 5:30 p.m.

NIGHT LIBRARY AT THE Saturday, October 21 | 5:30 p.m.

Pikes Peak Library District | Library 21c

Pikes Peak Library District | Library 21c

LIBATIONS scavenger hunt multi-course dinner

LIBATIONS scavenger hunt multi-course dinner

Buy tickets now at:

ppld.org/night-at-the-library

Buy tickets now at:

ppld.org/night-at-the-library

Manitou Art Center, 513/515 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs, 719-685-1861, manitouartcenter.org. Susan Morello: A Retrospective — Morello works mostly in soft pastels — in the Hagnauer Gallery.

Platte Collections, 2331 E. Platte Place, 719-980-2715, plattecollections.myshopify.com. Fiber art by Fort Collins’ Elizabeth Morisette.

Portraits of Manitou by C.H. Rockey, features original town views and significant historical buildings. Manitou Springs Heritage Center, 517 Manitou Ave.; manitouspringsheritagecenter.org; through November.

Surface Gallery, 2752 W. Colorado Ave., 719-359-6966, surfacegallerycos.com.

De-code, a father/son show by Daniel Romano “combining painting and sculpture in unexpected materials and forms,” and “calligraphy-based art, spanning mediums of street art, paint, metal work, clothing and jewelry” by his son Foster.

ZoneFIVE, 1902 E. Boulder St., zonefivecs. com. Idiom: Works by Warren Arcila, “a collection of paintings, drawings, and sculptures created throughout the years.” Through September.

Stargaze in the Garden with astronomers from Colorado Springs Astronomical Society as the seasons shift. “The hike will be between 1½ and 3 miles long all along mostly paved flat ground. The hike is slow paced and will have several stops along the way.” Friday, Sept. 22, 7-9 p.m.; $5, stroller- and pet-friendly; Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center, 1805 N. 30th St.; register at tinyurl.com/gog-equinox; 719-634-6666, programs@gardenofgods. com.

LEGO Habitats, let your creativity run wild! Join Bricks & Minifigs to learn about LEGOs’ commitment to sustainable practices and the environmental advantages of re-use. Saturday, Sept. 30, 9-10:30 a.m.; 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and 1-2:30 p.m.; $7/ person per session, prepaid (custom Bear Creek Nature Center minifig included); register at tinyurl.com/Bear-legos. Bear Creek Nature Center, 245 Bear Creek Road, tinyurl.com/epco-fun.

What Lives in Fountain Creek? Join Nature Center staff and a fish biologist — using a variety of tools and techniques — to explore the fish, frogs, turtles, macroinvertebrates and more that live in the creek. Saturday, Sept. 23; $5, $4/member, prepaid; Fountain Creek Nature Center,

KEHA Studio

320 Peppergrass Lane, Fountain, tinyurl. com/epco-fun.

LEARNING & LECTURES

“Remembering for the Future”: Join “two nationally recognized experts as they guide us to a better understanding of our current situation and the recent rise in antisemitism. We can learn from our collective moral failures during the Nazi era about how to combat the new surge of antisemitism and other forms of hatred and genocide in contemporary society.” Sept. 20, doors open at 6 p.m.; Celeste Theatre/CC, 825 N. Cascade Ave.; free, but registration required — thegreenbergcenter.org/remembering.

MUSEUM EXHIBITS

Americans and the Holocaust is “a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that examines the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.” Through Oct. 11; East Library/PPLD, 5550 N. Union Blvd.; ppld. org/HolocaustExhibit.

Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight is “the story of African Americans who, despite facing tremendous racial barriers, attained amazing achievements in aviation history. ... [S]tories and artifacts from local Tuskegee Airmen will be on exhibit to highlight the many Black heroes in our community.” Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; free; Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum Annex, Plaza of the Rockies, 121 S. Tejon St., #100; cspm.org.

PROSE & POETRY

All Pikes Peak Reads — This year’s selection, The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line — Untold Stories of the Women Who

Changed the Course of WWII: Retired Army Gen. Mari K. Eder’s biography “takes you inside the lives and experiences of 15 unknown women heroes from the Greatest Generation.” Check out a copy at your neighborhood PPLD branch. Author visit with Mari Eder: Keynote address, Q&A and book signing, Saturday, Oct. 7, 3 p.m.; Library 21c, 1175 Chapel Hills Drive; ppld. org/appr.

Build Your Own Zine, make your very first, or get zines ready to sell or trade at the Oct. 7 Pikes Peak Zine Fest. Wednesday, Sept. 20, 4:30-6:30 p.m.; free, all ages; Penrose Library/PPLD, 20 N. Cascade Ave.; see tinyurl.com/make-yer-zine for more info. (Also, the Rona’s back? Wear a mask.)

SPECIAL EVENTS

WestFest 2023, with activities for all ages, a potluck community picnic and live music by Chauncy Crandall, presented by the Organization of Westside Neighbors and Westside Community Center. Saturday, Sept. 23, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 1628 W. Bijou St.; tinyurl.com/WFest23.

Taste of Old Colorado City, the first since the pandemic — a day filled with food and drink from 20-plus restaurant and beverage vendors, along with live music and local art. Sunday, Sept. 24, noon to 4 p.m.; Bancroft Park, 2408 W. Colorado Ave.; occpartnership.org/taste-of-occ.

September Lights Festival, water lantern decoration and launch, lantern parade, doggy-light costume contest, music, food trucks and marshmallow roasting. Friday, Sept. 22, 4:30-9 p.m.; Fox Run Regional Park, 2110 Stella Drive; communityservices.elpasoco.com/september-fest.

Prohibition at the Castle, 1920s-style speakeasy with dancing, live music and hors d’oeuvres (dress for the era!). Saturday, Sept. 23, 6-8:30 p.m.; Miramont Castle, 9 Capitol Hill Ave., Manitou Springs;

tinyurl.com/roaring20s-manitou.

Creek Week, start planning now for the 10th anniversary Creek Week Cleanup, Sept. 30-Oct. 8. You (and your friends, school group, family, etc.) can volunteer to clean up litter along creeks and trails and in parks and open spaces throughout the Fountain Creek watershed — from Palmer Lake down to Pueblo. Sign up at fountain-crk.org/creek-week-2023-registration. See tinyurl.com/creek-week-23 for an events list and read more on p. 11.

CALENDAR

THEATER

Midge and the Butcher, by SET’s Quinn Smola, is “equal parts humor and horror.” “Midge, a recently out trans teen, has been having some troubles with a former-friendturned-bully. With school about to start and no clear allies, Midge does the only thing she can think of to make sure she has protection: she summons a demon from Hell.” World premiere Sept. 28-Oct. 15; The Fifty-Niner, 2409 W. Colorado Ave.; facebook.com/springsensembletheatre.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023–FEBRUARY 3, 2024

Courtesy Theatreworks

THEATER

Steel Magnolias, Theatreworks opens its new season with this “favorite story of friendship, resilience, and community.” You’re invited “into the intimate world of a Black beauty shop in small-town Louisiana and the lives of the women who keep both the shop and the county running.” Sept. 21-Oct. 15; Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave.; entcenterforthearts.org.

Sylvia Montero, They Came on Ships (detail), image courtesy the artist

By Mike Littwin Courtesy The Colorado Sun

DO WE KNOW WHO LAUREN BOEBERT IS?

IN THE WAKE OF WHAT WILL always be remembered — for at least another week, anyway — as the Beetlejuice Incident, it’s tempting to say that vape-happy Lauren Boebert has finally, once and for all, been smoked out. But come on. It didn’t take the latest in a long line of very public embarrassments for Boebert to reveal her true self.

We knew. Everyone knew. It’s as obvious as every pathetically transparent look-at-me, look-at-me-right-now move she makes. It’s as obvious as the one-finger salute the congresswoman so classily offered up to the cameras on her way out of the Buell Theatre.

Just ask Joe Biden, whom she infamously heckled at the State of the Union as he talked about American servicemen dying. Rep. Jason Crow called that incident an example of Boebert’s “depravity.” Depravity might be a little strong for the Beetlejuice Incident. But according to

new security video shown by TMZ, there was pretty clear evidence of what some would call public indecency — including Boebert and her date doing some very public canoodling and more during an otherwise PG musical. You could see from the video there were kids sitting in the row behind Boebert.

The New York Times called it “touching and carrying on.” The New York Daily News called it “groping.” I wonder how the drag queens she likes to demonize would describe it. You think they might call it “grooming”?

For our purposes, we can just call her night at the theater a series of crimes against ordinary human behavior.

Or, as I like to think of it, a preview of ready-made 2024 anti-Boebert campaign videos, created in one quite large smokefilled room. I’m sure there are a bunch of Hollywood-strike-sidelined film editors who could use the work. The hardest

part would be in trying to keep an ad to a TV-friendly 30-second spot.

I just hope Adam Frisch, who lost to Boebert by 546 votes last year, and all the others — Democrats and Republicans alike — eager to run against Boebert for her 3rd Congressional District seat, have sent the theater’s security people a thank-you note. Hey, we should all send them a note.

Let’s face it, if someone had asked you which Colorado politician had been kicked out of a touring Broadway musical in Denver for vaping, talking, singing, fondling, recording the show on her not-so-smartphone, taking selfies with a flash, flipping off a theater employee, insulting a theater patron and then lying about the extent of her obnoxious conduct, would you need more than one guess?

Of course not. This is so Boebert that it’s, well, Boebertian. As I was headed to

a show the other night, I told my companion we wanted to be sure not to be Boeberted. A dictionary entry surely awaits — as does, almost certainly, more rounds of, uh, qualifying behavior.

As you might have noticed, the online jokes — not all of them tasteful or, for that matter, funny — are everywhere. There are even more serious comments, at least one of which suggests Boebert’s in-theater behavior reflects a general decline in societal norms. I’m more inclined to see it as a general decline in MAGA-aligned congresspeople norms.

But we could look at the bright side. After all, Boebert was taking a break from her day job at which she is generally seen doing the work of shutting down the government or impeaching Biden for crimes not yet discovered or defending the Jan. 6 insurrectionists or spreading wide an unending stream of misinformation. One observer called Boebert the

ChatGPT of harmful ignorance, which may be an insult to artificial intelligence.

Look, maybe we might have understood if Boebert had been kicked out for singing along during the famous Beetlejuice “Banana Song” scene — I mean, who could resist? — but you must have seen at least one of several security-camera videos by now.

She was singing and waving her arms when no one else in the theater seemed to be singing or waving because, well, because.

What do you think she was smoking?

Boebert’s campaign manager has conceded that she had been singing too loudly and breaking house rules by taking photos of a live performance, but had nothing to say about accusations of her rudeness and denied outright that she had been vaping, saying that complaining patrons must have been confused by a fog machine used in the play.

The thing about lying is that it’s recommended never to do so — unless you’re, say, Donald Trump — when there’s a chance of incriminating video. Not to mention witnesses.

As it turns out, there was so much incriminating video and there were so many witnesses that Boebert felt the need to actually apologize for her behavior that night, saying in a statement five days later that she was truly sorry that she “fell short of her values,” which you’d think would be a pretty low bar.

As for her lies about vaping in an indoor venue, Boebert insisted she “genuinely did not recall” doing so. I guess. I mean, I genuinely no longer recall that time I was smoking with six stoners in a very tall tree just a very short jump from my college dorm window. It could happen.

But the damning evidence was soon everywhere. The Denver Post ’s Megan Schrader heard from the woman who was apparently seated behind Boebert. She even sent a copy of her tickets as

proof. The woman, who is pregnant, told Schrader she asked Boebert to stop the vaping and other “outrageous” behavior. The woman said Boebert ignored her pleas and later called her a “sad and miserable person.”

At intermission, Boebert’s companion reportedly offered to buy the woman and her husband cocktails as, presumably, an apology for the behavior and, I guess, the smoking. But, thinking about it, maybe alcohol isn’t so good for someone who’s pregnant, either.

Soon afterwards, following a warning from the ushers and several more complaints from patrons, Boebert was tossed, but not before — this is a baseball reference — kicking metaphorical dirt all over the ushers.

According to the theater’s incident report, Boebert at first refused to leave when asked by ushers, who then told her they would need to call the police. Boebert apparently said to go ahead. Of course, Boebert is well schooled in embarrassing run-ins involving the authorities.

In the end, the cops were called, although they turned out not to be needed. That was one drama that Boebert skipped. But as she left, she apparently asked the ushers if they knew just who she was, by which she presumably meant that they should have understood she was a person of some standing.

Do we know who you are, Rep. Boebert?

Why, yes. Yes, we do.

But if there’s any justice — and I know that’s still up for debate — Colorado’s gun-totin’ congresswoman will soon enough have to change the question to this: Do you know who I was?

Mike Littwin’s column was produced for The Colorado Sun, a reader-supported news organization committed to covering the people, places and policies of Colorado. Learn more at coloradosun.com.

A groping, toking, gun-toting discerner of the arts

LOWDOWN

By Jim Hightower jimhightower.com

HOUSTON SCHOOLS: DON’T ASK QUESTIONS

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Bright-eyed youngsters are now back in our public classrooms, filled with questions about the world around them. Questions like: “What happened to our school library?” and “Where did our librarians go?”

Sadly, these wholly beneficial, caring educators are being dumped in school trash bins by loopy right-wing ideologues who’re out to impose their bigotry and ignorance on America. They’ve been on a rampage of banning books and demonizing teachers, but now the extremists are saying: “That’s not stupid enough — let’s also launch a witch hunt against librarians!”

This authoritarian assault, funded by a clique of far-right billionaires and coordinated by their front groups, has been popping off across the country. But leave it to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to push it from extreme to totalitarianism.

He has unilaterally seized control of Houston’s school district (the largest, most diverse in Texas), installing his own whip-cracking, dictatorial overseer. Mike Miles, a former Army Ranger, former superintendent in Harrison School District 2, and CEO of a corporate school chain, promptly decreed that to improve reading scores in the district, he would first eliminate librarians from 28 schools in Black and Latino neighborhoods, and second, turn their libraries into centers where students who misbehave will be disciplined.

Also, Abbott’s education czar demands that all teachers there must reapply for their jobs, agree to follow a centrally scripted curriculum and be monitored by classroom cameras. All this, says Miles with a twisted smile, is meant to give a message of “hope” to teachers and parents. Of course, elimination of independent educational resources and regimentation of instruction will reduce schools to state institutions for obedience training.

And that’s the point. The GOP’s push to remake education is a billionaire’s wet

dream of a compliant, subservient workforce: Don’t ask questions — just keep pulling that plow.

MEANWHILE... I’M CELEBRATING

the spirit of Labor Day again this week because a momentous new energy has been building in today’s union movement. Indeed, renewed union rebelliousness has put labor back in Labor Day!

Previously cast as “a day off,” it’s now a day “on,” rallying working-class activism and celebrating nationwide strikes by such disparate groups as Teamsters and Hollywood actors. This is making the corporate bosses very antsy, for it’s the harbinger of a new order that is undermining absolutist Boss Rule.

Particularly alarming to the plutocratic establishment is the new aggressiveness of the United Auto Workers union under their recently elected grassroots president Shawn Fain. Tossing aside the old willingness to accept incremental changes in contract negotiations, Fain began the current bargaining round by literally throwing the industry’s proposal in the wastebasket, bluntly declaring that’s “where it belongs.”

Such honesty has spooked Detroit’s auto barons, who’re wailing that the workers’ demands are “excessive.” This from pampered CEOs each pocketing between $20 million and $34 million a year in personal pay! Pathetically, the corporate establishment has had no better retort to Fain than to try its tired old Red Scare bugaboo: “This man studied Trotsky,” squealed one squeamish corporatist on TV.

No. Instead, Fain has clearly studied Walter Reuther, Mother Jones, Fighting Bob La Follette, Frederick Douglass, Cesar Chavez and other American champions of economic fairness and social justice.

An important thing to know about Fain is that he was directly elected by UAW’s rank-and-file members on a platform of in-your-face activism against top-down inequality. The big story is not that a president of one workers’ organization is shaking things up, but that organized workers themselves are on the move, demanding economic democracy.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “These are the bad facts,” says author Fran Lebowitz. “Men have much easier lives than women. Men have the advantage. So do white people. So do rich people. So do beautiful people.” Do you agree, Virgo? I do. I’m not rich or beautiful, but I’m a white man, and I have received enormous advantages because of it. What about you? Now is a good time to tally any unearned blessings you have benefited from, give thanks for them, and atone by offering help to people who have obtained fewer favors. And if you have not received many advantages, the coming months will be an excellent time to ask for and even demand more.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): My favorite creativity teacher is author Roger von Oech. He produced the Creative Whack Pack, a card deck with prompts to stimulate imaginative thinking. I decided to draw one such card for your use in the coming weeks. It’s titled EXAGGERATE. Here’s its advice: “Imagine a joke so funny you can’t stop laughing for a month. Paper stronger than steel. An apple the size of a hotel. A jet engine quieter than a moth beating its wings. A home-cooked dinner for 25,000 people. Try exaggerating your idea. What if it were a thousand times bigger, louder, stronger, faster and brighter?” (PS: It’s a favorable time for you to entertain brainstorms and heartstorms and soulstorms. For best results, EXAGGERATE!)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): If you buy a bag of popcorn and cook it in your microwave oven, there are usually kernels at the bottom that fail to pop. As tasty as your snack is, you may still may feel cheated by the duds. I will be bold and predict that you won’t have to deal with such duds in the near future — not in your popcorn bags and not in any other area of your life, either literally or metaphorically. You’re due for a series of experiences that are complete and thorough and fully bloomed.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Writer

George Bernard Shaw observed that new ideas and novel perspectives “often appear first as jokes and fancies, then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion, and finally as established truths.” As you strive to get people to consider fresh approaches, Sagittarius, I advise you to skip the “blasphemies and treason” stage. If you proceed with compassion and good humor, you can go directly from “jokes and fancies” to “questions open to discussion.” But one way or another, please be a leader who initiates shifts in your favorite groups and organizations. Shake things up with panache and good humor.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Novelist and astrologer Forrest E. Fickling researched which signs are the worst and best in various activities. He discovered that Capricorns are the hardest workers, as well as the most efficient. They get a lot done, and they are expeditious about it. I suspect you will be at the peak of your ability to express these Capricornian strengths in the coming weeks. Here’s a bonus: You will also be at the height of your power to enjoy your work and be extra likely to produce good work. Take maximum advantage of this grace period!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The British band Oasis has sold over 95 million records. The first song they ever released was “Supersonic.” Guitarist Noel Gallagher wrote most of its music and lyrics in half an hour while the rest of the band was eating Chinese take-out food. I suspect you will have that kind of agile, succinct, matter-of-fact creativity in the coming days. If you are wise, you will channel it into dreaming up solutions for two of your current dilemmas. This is one time when life should be easer and more efficient than usual.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “When sex is really, really good,” writes Piscean novelist Geoff Nicholson, “I feel as though I’m disappearing,

being pulverized, so that I’m nothing, just particles of debris, smog, soot, and skin floating through the air.” Hmmmm. I guess that’s one version of wonderful sex. And if you want it, you can have it in abundance during the coming weeks. But I encourage you to explore other kinds of wonderful sex, as well — like the kind that makes you feel like a genius animal or a gorgeous storm or a super-powered deity.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): So it begins: the Building and Nurturing Togetherness phase of your astrological cycle. The next eight weeks will bring excellent opportunities to shed bad relationship habits and grow good new ones. Let’s get you in the mood with some suggestions from intimacy counselors Mary D. Esselman and Elizabeth Ash Vélez: “No matter how long you’ve been together or how well you think you know each other, you still need to romance your partner, especially in stability. Don’t run off and get an extreme makeover or buy into the red-roses-andchampagne bit. Instead, try being kind, receptive and respectful. Show your partner, often and in whatever tender, goofy way you both understand, that their heart is your home.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): From May 2023 to May 2024, the planets Jupiter and Uranus have been and will be in Taurus. I suspect that many Taurus revolutionaries will be born during this time. And yes, Tauruses can be revolutionaries. Here’s a list of some prominent rebel Bulls: Karl Marx, Malcolm X, activist Kathleen Cleaver, lesbian feminist author Adrienne Rich, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, artist Salvador Dali, playwright Lorraine Hansberry and dancer Martha Graham. All were wildly original innovators who left a bold mark on their cultures. May their examples inspire you to clarify and deepen the uniquely stirring impact you would like to make, Taurus.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini writer Joe Hill believes the only fight that matters is “the struggle to take the world’s chaos and make it mean something.” I can think of many other fights that matter too, but Hill’s choice is a good one that can be both interesting and rewarding. I especially recommend it to you in the coming weeks, Gemini. You are poised at a threshold that promises substantial breakthroughs in your ongoing wrangles with confusion, ambiguity and enigma. My blessings go with you as you wade into the evocative challenges.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Author Crescent Dragonwagon has written over 50 books, so we might conclude she has no problem expressing herself fully. But a character in one of her novels says the following: “I don’t know exactly what I mean by ‘hold something back,’ except that I do it. I don’t know what the ‘something’ is. It’s some part that’s a mystery, maybe even to me. I feel it may be my essence or what I am deep down under all the layers. But if I don’t know what it is, how can I give it or share it with someone even if I wanted to?”

I bring these thoughts to your attention, Cancerian, because I believe the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to overcome your own inclination to “hold something back.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In her book Undercurrents: A Life Beneath the Surface, psychologist and author Martha Manning says she is more likely to experience epiphanies in “grocery stores and laundromats, rather than in the more traditional places of reverence and prayer.” She marvels that “it’s in the most ordinary aspects of life” that she is “offered glimpses of the extraordinary.” During these breakthrough moments, “the baseline about what is good and important in my life changes.” I suspect you will be in a similar groove during the coming weeks, Leo. Are you ready to find the sacred in the mundane? Are you willing to shed your expectations of how magic occurs so you will be receptive to it when it arrives unexpectedly?

The GOP’s push to remake education is a billionaire’s wet dream of a compliant, subservient workforce.

BY THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL

Crime report

Xuming Li, 36, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of South Florida’s chemistry department, has been charged with multiple counts of battery, aggravated stalking and possession of a controlled substance after he targeted his neighbors, The New York Times reported on Aug. 27. Umar Abdullah, who lived above Li in a Tampa Bay condominium building, first started smelling a chemical odor in May. He believed it caused his family to experience breathing difficulties and burning eyes. For nearly a year, Li had “complained about footsteps. He complained about door closing sounds,” Abdullah said. The chemical odor came back in June, so Abdullah installed a hidden camera pointed at his front door, which captured Li on June 27 “injecting something” at the entrance. Preliminary testing showed the substances to be methadone and hydrocodone. Li was released on bond and will appear in court in December.

One way to do it

A woman in China’s Fuzhou City is facing a prison sentence of three years and a $27,000 fine after she chewed her way to a new iPhone at an Apple store. According to the South China Morning Post, the woman, surnamed Qiu, entered the store and made a beeline to the phone display. She was seen on surveillance video examining an iPhone 14 (worth about $950), then looking around to make sure no one was watching. Then she put the anti-theft cable in her mouth

and chewed through it, secured the phone in her bag and left the store. Store employees noticed the severed cable and contacted police, who were able to track Qiu and arrest her at her home. She told them she planned to buy an iPhone but balked at the price and decided to steal one instead.

Clothing optional

QUIZ SET No. 1966 (by Shelby Lyman) ; week of Sept 7

CHESS QUIZ w________w ásdwdsdkd] à0bdsdpdp] ßsdsdsdpd] ÞdPdsdsdw] Ýsdpdsds1] ÜdsdwdsdQ] ÛP)sds)PI] Ú$wGsdrds] sÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈs

BLACK FORCES MATE

The Chicago Park District just couldn’t let the city’s nudists have a little fun on Labor Day. Early that morning, someone posted a sign at Loyola Beach along Lake Michigan declaring “Nude Beach Past This Sign,” WLS-TV reported. But, alderman Maria Hadden scolded, the sign was unofficial and “cheeky,” and workers had it removed by that evening. Hadden did share that in 1932, alderman George A. Williston proposed a resolution to create a nude sunbathing beach in the same location. Great minds...

Hint: Create a winning pin.

Solution: 1. ... Rh1ch! 2. Kxh1 Qxh3ch! 3. Kg1 Qxg2 mate! [Wong-Basanta ‘1999}.

Incompetent criminal

CHESS QUIZ w________w ásdwdrdsd] àdpdsGk0p] ßpdwds0sd] Þ)sdbds)w] Ýsds)w)sd] Üdsdsdsdr] ÛsdsdRdsd] Údsds$wIs] sÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈs

BLACK WINS THE BISHOP

Nicholas Coffey, 23, couldn’t resist bragging on social media about his “new” Mercedes-Benz on Sept. 2, which made it easier for cops to track him down, Fox News reported. Coffey and an accomplice used the stolen car to break into other vehicles on Deltona, Florida, residential streets during the early morning hours, then stopped at a gas station, where Coffey was captured on surveillance video. Volusia County detectives caught up with him the following morning and arrested him on multiple charges.

Hint: Eliminate a defender.

Solution: 1. ... Rh1ch! 2. Kf2 Rxe1 (followed by ... Rxe7) [Ssonko-Shankland ‘14].

PUZZLE ANSWERS

w________w árdwdrisd] àdsdwdpgp] ßsdwdwdsd] Þdw0sdwdN] Ýwdndwdwd] Üdpdwdsdw] ÛP)Bdw)P)] Ú$wGsdKdR] sÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈs

BLACK’S BEST MOVE?

Hint: Better than ... bxc2.

Solution: 1. ... Rxa2! If 2. Rxa2, ... bxa2 (followed by ... a1=Q). If instead, 2. Rb1, ... cxb2! etc. [Hoff-Olsen 1999].

CHESS QUIZ

CHESS QUIZ

w________w ásds4w4sd] àdp0sdpdk] ßpdsdsdp0] Þdsdw)wdq] Ýwdn)sdRd] Üds)sds!P] ÛPdBdwdPd] Údsdw$sIs] sÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈs

WHITE WINS THE QUEEN

Hint: Create a winning pin.

Solution: 1. Rh4! wins it. If ... Qg5, simply Qxg5 (the h6pawn is pinned).

w________w árdwdqdsi] à0p0sdRgb] ßwdn0sdwd] ÞdwdBdwGQ] ÝwdP0sds)] Üds)wdw)s] ÛPdwdwdKd] Údwdwdwds] sÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈs

WHITE HAS A CRUSHER

Hint: Target the bishops.

Solution: 1. Bf6!, (threatens Bxg7ch, etc.). If ... Bxf6, 2. Qxh7 mate! [from BacallaoBogner ‘14].

CHESS QUIZ

w________w áwdwdqdwi] àdpdwgw4w] ßpdwdndwd] ÞdwdNdp0P] Ýwdwdwdwd] ÜdNdwdw!w] ÛP)Pdwdwd] ÚdKdwdwdR] sÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈs

‘IT’S JUST A BIOHAZARD ISSUE,” THE PILOT TOLD AIR TRAFFIC control. And indeed, the Delta Airlines Airbus A350 was forced to return to Atlanta after two hours in the air on Sept. 1 after a passenger suffered an “onboard medical emergency”: uncontrollable diarrhea that left the entire length of the aisle covered in fecal matter. The Guardian reported that passengers said the flight crew did everything they could to clean up the mess, including spraying it with scented disinfectant. But that merely made the cabin “smell of vanilla s--t,” one traveler said. Back in Atlanta, passengers, including the afflicted traveler, waited eight hours for the plane to be cleaned up and the aisle carpet to be replaced, then reboarded and were on their way to Barcelona — again.

WHITE WINS A PIECE

Hint: Key is a double threat.

Solution: 1. Qe5! (threatening both 2. Qxe6 and 2. h6!).

Colorado Springs Chess Club

Tuesdays 7-10PM • Acacia Apts 104 E Platte • 685-1984

w________w árhwdkgw4] à0pdw0p0p] ßwdPdwhwd] Þdwdwdwdw] Ýwdw)bdwd] ÜdPdw)Ndw] Ûs)wdw)P)] Ú$wGwIBdR] sÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈs

Find the familiar phrase, saying or name in this arrangement of letters.

CHESS QUIZ

CHESS QUIZ

WHITE WINS A ROOK

Hint: Or a new queen.

Solution: 1. Rxa7! If 1. ... Rxa7, 2. c7! (with a new queen to follow) [KomoltsvArjanov 1964].

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Edited by Adrian Johnson | Themeless

All words to be constructed pertain to the topic to the right. To your advantage one word has already been traced. You must trace the three remaining words, using only the letters designated by the darkened circles. Words may begin and end from either column but each letter can only be used once.

Each puzzle has a difficulty rating (right). Four stars signify the highest degree of difficulty.

Given to the right are the point values for each word. Your words must correctly match these point values.

Across

1 Dungeons & Dragons beast

5 "___ a lot right now"

8 Surprised Pikachu, e.g.

12 Contemptuous expressions

14 Heated singles matches?

16 "Get ready for some big news!"

18 Toilet cleaner, e.g., for Coca-Cola

19 Bar from the bathroom

20 ___ four (tea cake)

21 Pics from parlors

23 "Dis-gusting!"

25 Potent pot compound

26 Diablo's opposite

28 Needle features

30 Cigarillo remnant

32 Mile's 63,360

34 Magnetite and the like

36 www.my-space.___

38 "I'm done defending myself"

41 Ed Helms' role in the "Hangover" movies

42 Scenery, to a speeder

43 Mafia contractors

44 UFO crew, maybe

46 Big fat whoppers

48 "Ratatouille" protagonist

49 Casino machine with a guaranteed payout

51 "___ Is America" (Childish Gambino hit)

53 Boom box plug-ins

55 Step in a flight

57 Grows old

59 One more than bi-

60 Furry MLB mascot with an alliterative name

63 Went out in the afternoon, say?

64 Impressively, surprisingly

65 Has all the rights to

66 Not wet

67 Have a cry Down

1 "This isn't great news, but ..."

2 Evolutionary biologist's concern

3 Std. at the gas pump

4 Greek Cupid

5 "Amazing work, genius"

6 Gift from Santa

7 Step before drop and roll, when on fire

8 Stewart of home cooking

9 Source of rule enforcement on Capitol Hill

10 Churrascaria specialty

Find

11 Knoxville winter hours: Abbr.

12 Closed up

13 Chaser of expensive alcohol, say?

15 Song such as "Endless Love"

17 Brothers Grimm story

22 NYC neighborhood near Chinatown

24 "Take some!"

27 Basketball's Nikola Jokic, e.g.

29 Meeting, briefly

31 Sweet Minnesota apple

32 Networking assets

33 Post on Craigslist

35 Brownie recipe direction

37 Web portal since 1995

39 Resign

40 Two of Us?

45 Cornfield sights

47 Wistful exhalation

50 Actress Kunis

52 "Fire Burning" singer Kingston

54 Sets the dogs (on)

55 "A Black Lady Sketch ___" (HBO series)

56 Melon leftover

58 Buffalo feature, often?

60 Vacation hrs.

61 Play it by ___

62 Brew hall choice

MINI SUDOKU X

SUDOKU X

Focus Education

Hard lessons

Local experts urge more investment in and resources for school cybersecurity

BY SARAH MCMAHON

Cybercrime gangs are having a field day in the education sector. Cash-strapped and understaffed, schools and school districts are noticeably soft targets — and full of valuable data that can be stolen for sale or ransom.

Across the nation, there’s been a surge in cyberattacks on K-12 schools, colleges and universities — not to mention the massive June 19 breach of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. That attack exposed nearly 20 years of data on students, past students and teachers, and saw the theft of victims’ full names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, and photocopies of government IDs.

The investigation into that ransomware attack is ongoing, but local experts say it’s past time to prioritize cybersecurity in the education sector.

Last year, K-12 schools in the United States collectively lost $9.45 billion due to cybersecurity-related downtime,

according to Comparitech.com — and that figure doesn’t include the costs associated with recovery and implementing future security measures. Nor does it include the amount schools have paid in ransom.

According to the “State of Ransomware in Education 2023” report by global cybersecurity company Sophos, nearly half (47 percent) of schools that suffer ransomware attacks actually pay the ransom — but paying up significantly increases the cost of recovery. Schools that paid the ransom faced average recovery costs of $2.18 million (excluding any ransoms paid), Sophos reported, while schools that didn’t pay up had average recovery costs of $1.37 million.

Nearly one in three U.S. districts had been breached by the end of 2021, according to a survey by the federally funded Center for Internet Security.

In 2022, 80 percent of K-12 schools reported they had been the target of a ransomware attack, per Sophos, up from

56 percent in 2022. The U.S. Government Accountability Office says the scale and number of attacks increased during the pandemic, as more schools moved to remote learning and increased their reliance on IT services — and the threat is here to stay.

School districts in West Virginia, Iowa, Michigan, California and New Mexico have had to cancel classes due to ransomware attacks — and with data breaches and denial-of-service attacks also on the rise, hundreds of thousands of students are impacted by education sector cyberattacks each year.

“Specifically, between 2022 and 2023, we’ve had at least eight K-12 school districts throughout the country that were impacted by what we call ‘significant’ cyberattacks,” says Shawn Murray, president of Murray Security Services and Consulting and Information Systems Security Association International president.

“That means they had to cancel classes or close completely, and those breaches cost between $50,000 to over a million dollars. Those aren’t small breaches. Those are big ones.”

Around the same time CDHE announced it had been attacked, the White House released its plan to improve K-12 cybersecurity nationally.

These efforts include the Federal Communications Commission providing “up to $200 million over three years to strengthen cyber defenses in K-12 schools and libraries in tandem with other federal cybersecurity agencies that have deep expertise in cybersecurity” — plus help from private education technology providers.

In addition, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency “is committing to providing tailored assessments, facilitating exercises, and delivering cybersecurity training for 300 new K-12 entities over the coming school year,” according to the White House. “CISA plans to conduct 12 K-12 cyber exercises this year, averaging one per month, and is currently soliciting exercise requests from government and critical infrastructure partners, including the K-12 community.”

Keith Krueger, CEO of the nonprofit Consortium for School Networking, told Fortune he was encouraged that the White House, the Education Department, Homeland Security and the FCC recognized ransomware attacks on school districts as “a five-alarm fire,” but called the $200 million “a drop in the bucket”; school districts had hoped the FCC would commit closer to $1 billion.

The need is tremendous; for schools on ever-tighter budgets, cybersecurity often ranks low on the list of priorities. The Consortium for School Networking’s 2023 survey found almost half of the nation’s school districts spend 2 percent or less of their IT budget on cybersecurity defense.

“There are very few people whose sole responsibility is to work on cybersecurity in the school districts,” says Terry Bradley, co-founder and president of Mile High Security and cybersecurity consultant for Academy School District 20.

continued on p. 26

stock.adobe.com

“Most of them are focused on IT operations, deploying software, Help Desk, etc., with cybersecurity as a side duty.

“And school districts are very vulnerable to the pressure of being taken down,” says Bradley. “So if they stop education, if they stop class registration, if they stop testing, they come under a large amount of pressure to get that operation back up and running.”

Growing reliance on remote access technology has introduced new challenges for educational institutions, as home networks now mingle with external networks. Passwords — and especially reused passwords — are an easy target for hackers.

“Let’s say LinkedIn gets compromised, and the bad guys get all the passwords from LinkedIn,” says Bradley. “They’re going to try those passwords in other places, like teachers’ work emails and in financial accounts and things like that. So the push towards remote access has definitely made passwords more valuable and compromised, and it’s enabled a lot of attacks.”

Shelley Kooser, chief information officer for D20, says home computers also introduce viruses to school district networks. “That’s why we had to take the next step in ensuring that we had endpoint management software that’s monitoring the device,” she says, “because that’s really now the key entry point.”

D20 is a leading district for cybersecurity in K-12 schools in the Pikes Peak region. Kooser hosts a monthly virtual meeting for southern Colorado IT leaders who gather to

share information and methodologies for improving protections. “We actually get together and discuss things, and last year, as a matter of fact, one of our neighboring school districts attended our tabletop exercise to learn of what we’re doing. So it’s about sharing information,” she says.

“There’s no one thing that’s going to fix a ransomware attack because there could be multiple layers to it,” Kooser says. “So the defense-indepth theory is making sure that you have different layers and actions in case something were to happen at those layers.”

The multi-tiered approach includes a variety of techniques — monthly patching regimens, endpoint management solutions, dark-web monitoring for password breaches, third party risk assessments, and inventories of assets that process, transmit and/or store sensitive data. It’s also about educating staff, teachers and students to create a culture of cyberawareness.

small-business owners to get involved. They can help by pressuring elected representatives to focus on cybersecurity — because when massive attacks occur, the costs ripple across sectors and impact everyone. “Small-business owners should be concerned with what schools are doing to protect our data — our children’s and ours as well,” says Murray. “Cybersecurity has a significant impact on our economy and our national security.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re the CEO of a large company, or you’re a business owner or employee — we want to protect our children,” says Murray. “So get a hold of your legislators, your state and national legislators, your congressmen, your senators.” n CSBJ

The Colorado Department of Higher Education is offering 24 months of free access to monitoring services to anyone who may have been impacted by the breach.

Visit cdhe.colorado.gov/notice-of-data-incident for more information.

— Shelley Kooser

Parents, too, must join the effort to bolster protections — both Murray and Bradley urge parents to pressure school boards to make cybersecurity a top priority. “If parents are concerned about their student’s data, privacy and data security, they need to make those concerns known to the board,” Bradley says, “because school boards approve budgets and allocate money.

“And mostly parents are asking about if their child will get an iPad or have access to the latest technology. So if boards are not hearing from their constituency that parents are concerned about data security and data privacy, they’re not going to allocate funds to do that.”

In the face of growing cyber threats, Murray also urges

You may be impacted by the CDHE breach if you:

• attended a public institution of higher education in Colorado between 2007 and 2020;

• attended a Colorado public high school between 2004 and 2020; received a Colorado K-12 public school educator license between 2010 and 2014; participated in the Dependent Tuition Assistance Program from 2009 to 2013; participated in Colorado Department of Education’s Adult Education Initiatives programs between 2013 and 2017; and/or

• obtained a GED between 2007 and 2011.

1.47 acre lot at end of quiet cul de sac with sweeping unobstructed mountain & Pikes Peak views. Flat at front of lot & moving back the lot gently slopes to allow for a walkout. Backs and sides to open space. Easy commute to both Colorado Springs or Pueblo. MLS# 5628454

156

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5 lots in classy upscale subdivision of 37 homes. Complex has clubhouse with pool table, kitchen, meeting area, & indoor pool. Build to meet HOA guidelines which include stucco exterior, stucco privacy walls & tile roof. Can buy 1 to 5 lots (package deals). Each lot can be sold individually for $35,000 each. Nice area in walking distance to shopping & dining yet quiet & tucked away. MLS# 5194232

6943 S Picadilly Street

Aurora - $1,269,000

Stunning stucco and brick 6963 sq ft custom 2-story home on over 1/3 acre private lot in coveted neighborhood! 5 beds, 6 baths, study, 4-car attached garage, & amazing 13,504 sq ft lot. Curved open staircase. Gourmet kitchen. Formal living & dining rooms. Oversized master suite. 3 fireplaces. Wet bars. Trex deck and balcony. Solar panels. Cherry Creek schools. Close to Buckley SFB, golfing, shopping, dining, parks, trails, pools, club house, playground, and tennis courts. MLS# 2560918

1601 N Billy the Kid Lane Pueblo West - $28,500

1400 Tierra Berienda Drive

Pueblo - $110,000

Ellers Grove

There’s no one thing that’s going to fix a ransomware attack.

State of the City Mayor reflects on housing, infrastructure, public safety, trust, and his first 100 days

BY HELEN LEWIS | helen@csindy.com

‘Friends, Daniel’s a stud. Three years ago he was homeless. Today, Daniel has his own apartment, and a car, and he’s a rising member of our public works staff.”

Mayor Yemi Mobolade told 22-yearold Daniel’s story on Sept. 14 during his State of the City address, which came on his 100th day in office. Daniel, he told the audience of 937 at The Broadmoor, came to work for the city two years ago via the city’s WorkCOS workforce development partnership with Springs Rescue Mission, designed to create a pathway out of homelessness.

Daniel’s was one of several personal success stories Mobolade wove into his address, an update on what he called his “overly ambitious and aggressive 100-day blueprint, with 42 action items, as a nod to being the 42nd mayor of this great city.”

The action items centered on three major priorities: building support within government; building trust with the community; and addressing Colorado Springs’ most pressing and urgent issues.

Here are some highlights.

On building relationships with other leaders:

This month saw the first in a series of meetings between Mobolade and state legislators on affordable housing, infrastructure, emergency preparedness and economic development. As well as lawmakers, he’s working with Gov. Jared Polis and mayors from across Colorado to stay abreast of new legislation and opportunities coming from the state. The importance of intergovernmental relationships “can be summed up with: U.S. Space Command,” Mobolade said. The Biden administration’s announcement of Colorado Springs as the permanent home of U.S. Space Command was the culmination of years of work by Team Colorado, a delegation of local, state and federal leaders working together for the best interest of taxpayers and national security,” he said. “Because of this collaboration, and advocacy at all levels of government, Colorado Springs is now the home of U.S. Space Command for good.”

On economic development:

“Fifty-five days into the office and Space Command became a reality. I’m just saying at this rate, I’m unstoppable,” Mobolade said. “I’m really kidding! I’m kidding. Though I am not kidding about the longterm economic impact of retaining Space Command, which is in the billions of dol-

lars — and the positive results have been immediate.” In the few weeks since the announcement, Mobolade said, Boecore chose Colorado Springs for expansion, making a capital investment of $7.8 million and promising 600-plus high-paying jobs. And the city expects to see further growth in aerospace, cybersecurity, defense and technology, Mobolade said, “which means an influx of high-paying jobs for our residents.” Touting the local economy, Mobolade said El Paso County is leading the state in the number of state-incentivized projects this year, and since June 6, City Council has approved five economic development

agreements — “an unprecedented number in a very short amount of time,” he said, representing “nearly 1,700 projected new full-time jobs created; 500 jobs retained; and a total of $440 million in projected capital investment in Colorado Springs secured.”

Mobolade also praised the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC’s partnership in economic development efforts: “We are tracking about 20 new expansion and attraction projects, with jobs paying between $70,000 to $100,000. That increases the opportunities for our residents to make a livable wage and improves the

quality of life for them and their families.”

On housing:

“It’s top of mind for many; it’s top of mind for me. Our housing supply impacts everyone, including the pillars of our community: Think about our teachers, our firefighters, our nurses and our law enforcement officers,” Mobolade said. “There was a time when residents would express frustration because we were losing all of our young people to ‘cooler’ cities. Now what I hear from parents is, ‘We need more housing so we can kick them out of our basement!’” continued on p. 28 ➔

Yemi Mobolade, the city’s 42nd mayor, delivers the State of the City address at The Broadmoor on Sept. 14.

Helen Lewis

A NIGHT OF EXCELLENCE

Mobolade appointed the city’s first chief housing and community vitality officer to convene stakeholders to unlock housing supply for middle-income earners (residents who make between $50,000 to $100,000).

“We will continue to champion innovative housing solutions like 3D printed and modular homes and explore creative solutions in partnership with our faith leaders and schools,” he said, “and access land that can be used for much-needed housing.

I’m very proud that Colorado Springs was the first big city to opt into Proposition 123. This will unlock state funding and allow housing providers to access state funding that will help create much-needed ‘missing middle-income’ housing for our growing workforce.”

There’s still a lot of work to be done — and the city will “lean in” to partnerships with local organizations like the Community Housing Affordability Task Force, Pikes Peak Housing Network, Solid Rock Community Corporation and the Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation, as well as working closely with state partners to address the housing crisis.

On listening:

Mobolade said his community listening tour engaged more than 1,000 residents from all six council districts, and the feedback received there “is directly informing our city’s new strategic plan,” which will be finalized in June 2024. “Friends, democracy is a participatory sport, not a spectator sport,” he said. “Democracy is best served when people show up and speak up. And what we witnessed on our listening tour is democracy in action. The residents gave us

kudos — and they expressed great frustration. Both were present and that’s OK.”

Mobolade said he’s established ways for the mayor’s office to communicate more regularly and directly with residents, including a bi-weekly progress report, and a monthly meeting with local media partners. He also thanked community leaders who joined his four “solutions teams” addressing housing, public safety, infrastructure and economic vitality. “We convened a group of rivals of sorts,” he said, “and this group of diverse leaders with varying life experiences have provided me with solutions in each one of these four areas. Egos were checked at the door and they did the hard work of learning from each other and putting Colorado Springs ahead of individual preferences.”

On public safety:

Mobolade called public safety “a top priority and our most pressing issue.”

While total crime incidents have fallen and are trending in the right direction, he said, “other numbers are not trending in the right direction. Average response times for customer service have increased and getting to authorized full strength of officers remains a challenge — and opportunity.”

Among the needs: more community and public health programming to address “the public safety realities around behavioral health needs, and a training academy that equips officers with the best training, particularly around de-escalating techniques.”

“Our officers are asking for more training. Our community is asking for better training around de-escalation techniques. Colorado Springs, I hear you. It’s why I am

BBB OF SOUTHERN COLORADO PRESENTS THE 29th ANNUAL

Democracy is a participatory sport, not a spectator sport.

— Mayor Yemi Mobolade

Helen Lewis

resolute about the need for a new Police Training Academy. And it’s why City Council and I are aligned to refer a TABOR retention item to the November ballot. You see, on your worst day you want the besttrained officer to answer your call. And that’s why a vote for this ballot item is a vote for your public safety.

“I want to be clear, this is not a tax increase,” Mobolade said. “If approved by voters, it will allow $4.75 million in city excess revenue to be invested in our public safety, which benefits the entire city — compared to a one-time tax credit of $21 for residents with Utilities accounts.

“This is your hard-earned money and I don’t take that lightly. This is why the city is easing, and will continue to ease, the burden of your property tax increases by providing a temporary tax relief to our residents, including the many property owners who are on fixed income.”

On roads and infrastructure:

Mobolade said citizens who voted for investment in critical infrastructure needs over the last several years had helped improve roads and the stormwater system, and made sure that infrastructure held up despite historic rains this summer. “We had more than 14 inches of rain in May and June which is just shy of what you see in the Amazon on average,” he said. “Without leadership and without that investment in our stormwater infrastructure, we would have experienced major flooding and widespread damage throughout the city.” Mobolade said the popular 2C initiative continues to deliver meaningful results, cutting the number of resident complaints by 90 percent. “In terms of lane miles,” he said, “we have repaved the distance from Colorado Springs to Athens, Georgia — and we need to keep paving all the way to Athens, Greece, to resurface our entire existing road system.” The city has filled nearly 70,000 potholes this year — 37,000 in the mayor’s first 100 days. “What is the State of the City address without talking about potholes?” he said.

Voter support for the Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority funded “major and very expensive” capital improvement projects including the accelerated efforts underway to widen portions of Marksheffel Road, rebuild the Circle Drive bridges, reconstruct South Academy Boulevard and make extensive updates to Black Forest Road to support rapid growth in that area.

On homelessness:

“As far as how we are addressing homelessness, we must embrace best practices at work,” Mobolade said, “including the development of permanent supportive housing, and continued investment in behavioral health programs such as the city’s homeless outreach teams, and better access to mental health services. As mayor, I am committed to continued partnership with our local homeless providers.

At a media briefing after his address, Mobolade expanded on his approach to making homelessness a priority. “I want to be clear that we have citywide priorities [but] it doesn’t mean that city government is responsible for every one of them. It would actually be an insult to the many partners that are already working on it for government to say, ‘Well, we’re gonna fix it.’ I think of Homeward Pikes Peak, I think of The Place, Springs Rescue Mission, Catholic Charities, and the many partners who are already doing the work in the arena of homelessness. What they’re excited about is a mayor who gets to be a champion of that effort. One of the biggest opportunities afforded to me is what one of our former presidents called a ‘bully pulpit.’ That doesn’t cost the taxpayers anything. It gives me the opportunity to lean into an initiative and to make it important. … However I can continue with any of our partners to help bring in more funding to this community, I will. And that’s also what I’ll be using my bully pulpit for, is to go after some of these funds. … I am leaning into our grant folks at the city. I see an incredible opportunity to increase funding by ensuring that we are applying for more grants.” n CSBJ

Gene

Helen Lewis

Building connections

Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center recognizes Suicide Prevention Month

In recognition of Suicide Prevention Month, here are a few sobering facts:

• Veterans are 57 percent more likely to take their own lives than those who haven’t served in the military.

• Suicide is the second leading cause of death in veterans under 45.

• Of those who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, suicide accounts for 22.4 percent of all deaths.

• Estimates are that nearly 40 veterans take their own lives daily in the United States.

In addition, studies show that 40 percent of veterans experience high stress levels when leaving the military for civilian life. And 35 percent of veterans say they have trouble paying bills in the first year after leaving military service. Those still on active duty face repeated deployments; one in four faces hunger and food insecurity.

For veterans, losing the mission and focus when leaving the military can seem overwhelming. Finding a new purpose and providing for their family can be stressful. Addressing these factors holistically — including mental health support — is vital to reducing suicide rates in veterans.

Housing, employment, food, rent, medical treatment and support navigating available resources can ease the stress of transitioning and help reduce veteran suicide levels. Finding homes for homeless veterans, obtaining substance

abuse treatment for those who need it, easing the burden for aging veterans, and helping find long-term solutions can all help reduce the lives lost needlessly.

Suicide prevention also means building wellness and resilience — and that comes from courage, compassion, and connection. It’s what people need in and out of the service. They need to be able to connect to find that sense of purpose. They need compassion from all of us. They need the courage to ask for help. And we need the courage to ask someone if they need help.

The connection piece is critical. Veterans looking for that sense of connection after leaving the military — the importance of purpose that comes from the mission — can find it again through helping others, meaningful work, and volunteering.

There are things we can all do, and we can watch for: giving away prized possessions, making a will, engaging in risky or dangerous behavior, angry outbursts, and increased rage — all are signs of suicidal ideation.

What can you do? Sometimes, it’s as simple as asking an uncomfortable question: Are you OK? Are you suicidal? Are you thinking of harming yourself? Sometimes, it’s as easy as letting people know you care.

We can also point the way to resources: behavioral health assistance is vital. Medicine and counseling can help. But access to support to reduce the stress of hunger, lack of employment, and insufficient housing can also provide a level of certainty that’s missing in the lives of many veterans.

During September, the goal is to highlight suicide pre -

vention leading up to the holidays, which come with loaded expectations, loneliness, and additional expenses.

Our brothers and sisters in the military deserve our support. We owe them because they served. Do more than say thank you; help repay our debt by providing needed assistance and encouragement. Together, we can man the battle stations and stay there through the holidays — and beyond —to assist those among us who need additional support. Our help now can save lives. If you are in crisis, call the Veterans Crisis Hotline at 1-800-273-8255; 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or text TALK to 38255.

Col. Bob McLaughlin [Ret.] is executive director of the Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center. He began developing the concept after retiring from over 28 years of service in the U.S. Army in 2014. Mt. Carmel serves and supports military, veterans and their families assisting with food, housing, employment and health and wellness services.

The Front is a collaboration between the Colorado Springs Business Journal , Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center and its partners.

Bob McLaughlin

The connection piece is critical.

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