Open Forum

Mask mandates

This is getting frustrating

Ifind it hard to believe that Boulder County Public Health has found it necessary to re-impose indoor mask mandates when cases of COVID-19 have been decreasing in the county for the past two weeks and hospital admissions are extremely low, while countywide vaccination rates are 80%. It is extremely unclear what has prompted this mandate but what is absolutely clear is that the psychological toll of having lived through numerous shut downs and restrictions for the past year and seven months has been extreme on local residents and re-imposing restrictions is very demoralizing and will be met with anger, frustration and in some cases outright rebellion.

I sincerely hope that the board will reconsider this mandate and impose vaccine mandates instead which have been proven to be much more effective against the spread of the virus. It is unfair to those of us who are vaccinated to have to keep restricting our lives to accommodate those who have chosen not to protect themselves from this virus. and Out Boulder County have endorsed the Bedrooms campaign. Their members know what it’s like to find affordable housing in Boulder and what will actually work because they have lived it. If you want to see more affordable housing in Boulder, join me in voting for the Bedrooms Are For People ballot initiative this November.

Bedrooms initiative

It will drive families out

Ah, fall. It’s finally cool enough to sleep with the windows open, unless you live next to an over-occupied house, like the one whose party kept my daughter up all night last weekend.

There’s a measure on the ballot this fall to eliminate occupancy limits in Boulder under the guise of affordability. It’s a nice thought, and many of the vocal proponents seem like earnest people who’d be great neighbors.

Practically speaking though, let’s look at the unintended consequences:

The going rate for a bedroom in Boulder is $1,000. If occupancy limits are eliminated, that house behind me could easily bring in $5,000. Add an ADU or split up a couple bedrooms and it’s now $7,000 to $10,000. When investors, like those backing this bill, can snatch up properties with cash offers and turn a profit like that, housing prices will skyrocket.

Mine is one of the last affordable neighborhoods in Boulder. Young families save to buy a house where their kids can walk to our neighborhood school. We have a neighborhood newsletter where people gift things to each other and talk about the community. We put signs out so kids can safely play outside. These young families and other middle-class Boulderites won’t be able to afford the mortgage or even the rent on a single-family home if this measure passes.

Now think of the extra cars, lack of parking, noise, and infrastructure challenges. Will these homes be maintained, or will every neighborhood in Boulder turn into the Hill, where people live in foyers and basements and chalk the outsides of their houses? In Boulder, 65% of renters are Gen Z — they rent by the bedroom, year to year.

Once community fabric is destroyed, it is almost impossible to rebuild. was murdered in Broomfield last week. In the same edition was news of the indictment of officers involved in Elijah Mcclean’s death.

So I write a third time about justice for Johnny Hurley who was killed by Arvada police in June after he shot an active shooter who had killed another Arvada officer. Johnny was reported a “Samaritan hero” by the press. He stepped into a dangerous situation and saved lives. However there has been no official report or statement from the Arvada police or DA about his death: no release of the body-camera footage, not evidenced explanation of the events that led to his death. Johnny’s family and community have requested more information, but the case has been buried and obfuscated by the police and DA.

A transparent explanation of his shooting as an egregious error in a tense situation might well be understood and accepted — but no such transparency has come forth after almost three months. Something is rotten in the City of Arvada.

So for a third time, I ask Prairie Mountain Publishing to utilize its press power to investigate and leverage information about Johnny’s death. Demand release of the body camera footage. Push for details on the case. Johnny deserves justice as much as Michael Lewis and Elijah Mcclain.