Boulder City Council

Flobots' Jamie Laurie raps Boulder for turning down Palestinian sister city

Jamie Laurie makes music -- and also political and social change. A founder of the Flobots, he was raised in Denver, where he grew from a comic-loving kid to an East High teacher sharing rap with students. Although still based here, Laurie promotes global issues through the nonprofit flobots.org. An ... More >>

Boulder's sister city proposal with Palestine's Nablus leads to political fireworks

With seventy of this state's movers and shakers headed to Japan this week for an economic mission that includes a side trip to Denver's sister city of Takayama, there should be lots of sibling revelry. But up in Boulder, the sister-city program founded by President Dwight Eisenhower more than fifty ... More >>

Marijuana: Boulder rejects pot shop ban, but councilman urges caution moving forward

Update: Yesterday, we noted that the Boulder City Attorney's office planned a presentation suggesting that city council approve a moratorium until at least 2014 on new marijuana retail outlets legalized under Amendemnt 64; see previous coverage below. Last night, the council chose not to go forward ... More >>

Walmart v. Trader Joe's: Red state or blue?

Colorado is the purplest of states, with voters almost equally divided between Democrat, Republican and unaffiliated, and Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in a dead heat here. But there's another contest that also shows the red state/blue state pull: The debate over

Seth Brigham, annoying Boulder critic: Indecent exposure arrest and more

The latest developments in the Seth Brigham saga are sad but not exactly shocking. Known as Boulder's most annoying critic, Brigham recently won a court case blocking a permanent restraining order against him -- but he declined to sue the city after suffering what attorney David Lane deemed a breakd ... More >>

Video: Seth Brigham sings, dances at Boulder City Council after restraining order lifted

No one anticipated that Seth Brigham's first appearance at a Boulder City Council meeting since a judge threw out the city's restraining order against him would be low-key. But few could have guessed at the weirdness that resulted when the willfully irritating gadfly delivered his testimony in song ... More >>

Boulder's defense of restraining order against annoying critic a joke, says David Lane

In May, Boulder officials filed a restraining order against Seth Brigham, the city's most annoying critic, arguing that he was a threat. Brigham, who won a hefty judgement against Boulder two years ago (more on that below), responded by contacting attorney David Lane and taking the city to court. Ye ... More >>

ACLU says Boulder can't require permission for protesters to use parks

The Boulder County ACLU has come out in firm opposition to a proposed ordinance that would require approval from the city manager to allow protesters to gather in city parks. Although the topic is still in the brainstorming stages and won't merit a decision for months, its opponents fear it could pl ... More >>

Seth Brigham, Boulder critic, rejects city's offer over restraining order

The legal battle arising from a restraining order filed by the City of Boulder against Seth Brigham, its most annoying critic. has gotten more complex. According to attorney David Lane, Brigham has rejected a settlement offer from Boulder, whose reps are expected to participate in a conference call ... More >>

4/20 at CU-Boulder: Members of city council on why they support campus closure

Last night, the Boulder City Council passed a resolution supporting CU-Boulder's plan to shrink the campus 4/20 event by closing Norlin Quad and banning visitors on Friday; read it below. This morning, we spoke to two members of the council -- one who supports it wholeheartedly, and another who vote ... More >>

Boulder County ACLU pushes penalty reductions for minor legal violations

The Boulder City Council is considering a proposal to reduce penalties for sixty minor legal violations such as littering and throwing rocks. Under ordinance 7831, first and second time offenders would no longer face jail time, though their rights to a trial by jury would be changed to a single judg ... More >>

Medical marijuana centers cost Boulder more than they bring in?

Last week, Boulder City Council extended a nine-month moratorium on new medical marijuana businesses. It was a surprising move for a community perceived as medical-pot friendly. But senior assistant city attorney Kathy Haddock argues that it was necessary due in part to the belief that MMJ is not ne ... More >>

Boulder approves penalty reduction for sixty municipal offenses, ACLU wants forty more

Tuesday night, Boulder City Council reduced fines and approved no jail time for first and second convictions on sixty municipal offenses -- an effort to prevent a flood of minor cases (like Occupy Boulder camping tickets) from filling courtrooms. Some aspects of these changes please the ACLU of Bou ... More >>

Colorado beer calendar: Sausage at Denver Beer Co; Black Friday at Copper Kettle

Avery Brewing has created an online petition at change.com, urging the brewery's fans to support an effort in Boulder to change the zoning code to allow breweries, wineries and distilleries located in industrial parts of the city to open restaurants. Right now, those businesses are only allowed to o ... More >>

Same-sex insurance tax penalty: Dave Ensign on his pitch to Boulder Human Rights Commission

Flickr​Update: Out Boulder board member Dave Ensign wants his hometown to become only the second community in the nation to compensate city employees for tax penalties they suffer when buying health insurance for same-sex partners -- and he feels that his proposal before Boulder's Human Rights ... More >>

Boulder B-cycle: Google helps get new bike-sharing program rolling

From 303Cycling.com​With the success of Denver's B-cycle program, it was only a matter of time until Boulder, our pedalicous neighbor to the north, would be clamoring, "Me too! Me too!" It turns out Boulderites won't have to wait much longer: A recent Boulder City Council report noted Boulder ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Did Boulder's publication of a map showing grow locations violate the law?

​"Boulder Accidentally Discloses Secret Marijuana Grow Sites," published by the Boulder Daily Camera, reveals that the city put a map on its website showing the whereabouts of sixty cannabis cultivation centers. Along the way, the piece quotes Boulder assistant city attorney Kathy Haddock as a ... More >>

Seth Brigham's $10,000 payment for dropping trou: Did it influence Boulder decorum rules?

Seth Brigham under arrest.​Seth Brigham's nipple-baring appearance at a Boulder City Council meeting in February to (sort of) protest a proposed nudity ordinance that would have banned female nipples displays led to Brigham's arrest -- an action that recently cost Boulder $10,000. But did it a ... More >>

Striptease pays off: Boulder City council offers $10,000 to boxer-shorts-protester Seth Brigham

Seth Brigham under arrest.​Back in February, we told you about Seth Brigham's nipple-baring appearance at a Boulder City Council meeting -- a protest of sorts against a proposed nudity ordinance that would have criminalized the display of female nipples in the city. Brigham, who remained in hi ... More >>

Zorro (aka Seth Brigham) fights for his right to wear masks at Boulder City Council

Seth Brigham, masked man.​There's no politics like Boulder politics. At last night's Boulder City Council meeting, Seth Brigham, who'd previously protested a possible nudity ban by stripping to his boxers, ridiculed proposed new decorum rules already facing the ACLU's wrath by wearing a Zorro ... More >>

Arizona immigration law: Boulder's proposal attacks policies placing immigrants at risk

Jane Brautigam.​In May, we told you about Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam's authorization of a ban on travel to Arizona over SB 1070, that state's controversial new immigration law. At its 6 p.m. meeting tonight, the Boulder City Council will decide whether to continue the prohibition an ... More >>

Bare nipples at Boulder city council meeting: David Lane takes on Seth Brigham's cause

Seth Brigham being arrested.​To protest an ordinance that might have criminalized women who publicly bare their nipples, Boulder's Seth Brigham stripped to his boxers at a February city council meeting -- and was promptly arrested. Four months later, David Lane, fresh from winning a $5.9 mill ... More >>

Bare breasts in Boulder: Housing authority decision means Catherine Pierce's can hang out again

Flappers like these beauties from "There's Something About Mary" may soon be back on display in Boulder.​The campaign to establish a new public nudity ordinance in Boulder took an unexpected turn a few weeks back. That's when Catharine Pierce, 52, turned heads when she decided to garden wearin ... More >>

Nudity ordinance a war on fun in Boulder, says ACLU

Naked Pumpkin Run participants in 2005 showed a lot of cheek.​Last night, the Boulder City Council passed a controversial nudity ordinance banning anyone over the age of ten from exposing their genitals in public -- a response to concerns about annual events such as the World Naked Bike Ride a ... More >>

Bare breast ban in Boulder: Is city council ready to treat men's and women's nipples differently?

A Flickr photoWill she still be able to uncover that in Boulder?​At a meeting tonight, the Boulder City Council will take up a proposed public nudity ordinance that's gone through several permutations in recent months. At first, the measure forbade the display of a woman's nipples, among othe ... More >>

Bare breasts in Boulder: ACLU says topless gardener controversy shouldn't lead to female nipple ban

Should these (as seen in "There's Something About Mary") be illegal in Boulder?​Yesterday, we told you about Boulder's Catharine Pierce, 52, whose decision to garden topless in her front yard, which is located near a pre-K through 12th grade school, stirred complaints and police calls even tho ... More >>

Nipple areolas okayed in Boulder -- but nudity ordinance hasn't been stripped bare

Don't worry, Janet. They can't bust you for this in Boulder -- yet.​Yesterday, we told you about the objections of the ACLU's Judd Golden to a proposed nudity ordinance slated for its first reading before the Boulder City Council. At the session, portions of the measure dealing with what Gold ... More >>

Should exposing the areola of a nipple be illegal in Boulder? The ACLU says "no"

Last month, Boulder district attorney Stan Garnett (who weighs in today about medical marijuana) argued that the Boulder City Council should pass what he called "a simple public-nudity ordinance" regarding participants in events like the World Naked Bike Ride and the Naked Pumpkin Run. That way, sco ... More >>

Naked Pumpkin Run participants: Boulder DA Stan Garnett doesn't think you're sex offenders

Prior to last year's Naked Pumpkin Run, Boulder district attorney Stan Garnett told Westword that the charges available to use in relation to the event didn't fit the crime -- or whatever the hell you'd call stripping off your clothes and dashing around with a pumpkin shell on your head. In his word ... More >>

Frank Georgianna set the stage for great theater in Boulder

Wake-Up Call: Putting a lid on the pot party

​Welcome to cannabis Colorado. This weekend, at a gathering of publishers from across the country, all the talk was about Colorado and pot -- and they weren't just asking if I was carrying. No, they wanted to know about the booming business in medical-marijuana dispensaries in this state -- a ... More >>

Did the Boulder City Council accidentally define illegal weed dealers as medical-marijuana businesses?

The Boulder City Council pushed forward emergency rules about medical-marijuana businesses. Wonder how closely they read them.​Update below: Last night, the Boulder City Council considered imposing a temporary moratorium on new medical-marijuana operations -- and while members stopped short o ... More >>

Next big medical-marijuana showdown: Boulder City Council considers moratorium on dispensaries tonight

Photo by Robert FisherNew cases could be closed in Boulder depending on a city council meeting tonight.​Earlier today, Judge Larry Naves gave medical-marijuana boosters a big win by voiding the Board of Health's decision to change a definition of caregiver put into place in July. But advocates ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Boulder officials fire up medical-marijuana dispensary regulations

​What's happened to the liberal mecca of Boulder? First, cops put a lid -- and some pants -- on plans to resurrect the Halloween Mall Crawl, as well as the Naked Pumpkin Run. And now the city's looking at strictly regulating medical marijuana dispensaries -- if it doesn't ban them altogether. ... More >>

Is taking part in the Naked Pumpkin Run a crime?

During an interview for last week's blog about criticism of the Boulder Police Department's efforts to squelch a revival of the Boulder Mall Crawl this Halloween, Judd Golden, chapter chair of the Boulder County American Civil Liberties Union, mentioned another event expected to bust out that night: ... More >>

The Cannabis Therapy Institute's open letter to Colorado officials

The logo of the Cannabis Therapy Institute.​The Cannabis Therapy Institute, an organization "dedicated to helping patients achieve a better quality of life with cannabis," may have an Iowa phone number, but it's been very involved of late with pot issues in Colorado. Its "About Us" page notes, ... More >>

Cutting Boulder's budget -- and 26 jobs along with it

Boulder City Manage Jane Brautigam.​Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is hardly the only local official in these parts staring at ugly budgets. Case in point: Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam, who's sent a budget to the city council featuring $13 million in reductions, achieved by, among many o ... More >>

Hear from the man behind KBFR, Boulder's pirate radio station

Yesterday's blog "Pirate Radio Station KBFR Back in Boulder" provided info about an unlicensed radio signal using call letters that date back for the better part of a decade. In that piece, the main commentator was Rob Smoke, a former Boulder City Council candidate who's producing a regular talk s ... More >>

Pirate radio station KBFR back in Boulder

Unlicensed radio broadcasts, popularly referred to as pirate radio, come and go by necessity. Stations surface only to disappear without notice, generally because operators get information that the authorities are closing in or the Federal Communications Commission has physically pulled the plug and ... More >>

Where There's Smoke, There's Ire

Malled!

For revenue-hungry cities in the northern metro area, it's shop 'til you're dropped

Strange but True

Rampaging bears! Rampaging Buffs! Criminals in the buff! It happened here... unfortunately.

Off Limits

Keep your eye on the birdie

Best Valet Service

Boulder ChopHouse & Tavern

Off Limits

Far, far out!

What a Circus!

In the center ring, now and forever: JonBenét Ramsey.

Off Limits

Couched comments

An Open Question

Are Boulder's Open Space Department and its director one and the same?

Putting the Boulder Police on Report