unknown 0:00

The frequency is frequently.

SPEAKER_04 0:09

Good morning, Boulder County. It's Wednesday, April 22nd. I'm your host, Shay Castle. And this is the Frequency. A weekly local podcast covering the news, events, and voices shaping the Boulder Valley. Today's episode is brought to you by the Netherland Farmers Market. The new season is just around the corner. This year's market will run from May 10th through October 18th. Along with all your favorite vendors, we're planning a few special fundraising events throughout the season. This year is extra meaningful for the Ned Farmers Market, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. That's 10 amazing years of bringing people together, supporting locals, and celebrating everything that makes our community so special. Celebration will last all season long. To kick things off, the opening day theme is Gold Day for the market's golden birthday. They're turning 10 on May 10th. Come out, wear your best gold, bring your friends and family, and help start the season strong. There's nothing quite like that first weekend back. Seeing returning vendors, reconnecting with the vibrant community, and of course, enjoying access to fresh, local produce every single weekend. We can't wait to see you there. Later today, we'll hear from a local child psychologist on what's next now that conversion therapy is legal again in Colorado, and how parents and caregivers can help set boundaries for their kids and themselves when it comes to social media. But first, the headlines. The new location is within walking distance of the RTD Park and Ride Station on McAslin and the former Cinnabar, which CEU purchased last year for future use as faculty, staff, and graduate student housing. Former Dark Horse owner Dave Tobin told me last month that shipping containers full of equipment and decor were already being moved to Lewisville. The Dark Horse auctioned off much of its iconic memorabilia and a fundraiser for employees, but the new location will aim to keep some of the flavor alive. In a Facebook post, the restaurant wrote, Yes, the bathroom doors are coming with us. Tobin said it might not be exactly the same, but he's glad the Dark Horse will live on. Quote, you just can't replace what was there on baseline. That was a one-time thing. I'm happy to see it move on. I hope it's successful. Boulder voters will weigh a tax on second homes this fall, according to organizers, with vacancy to vitality. The group is circulating a petition to place the tax on Boulder ballots, but announced Monday that City Council will instead advance its own tax to voters. The city measure leaves out one key piece of the vacancy tax, which would charge property owners of offices and businesses that have been empty for more than two years. But the slim down tax could still generate millions of dollars for affordable housing, wildfire mitigation, and other city services impacted by a shrinking sales tax base.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

There's a real cost to vacancy to our community. In a community that relies on sales tax to fund its basic needs, empty commercial buildings and empty residential buildings mean people aren't shopping here. They're not eating here. And we see that reflected in the city budget, but we also feel it as community members. If you've lived here a long time, you feel the way Boulder has been gutted by vacancy. You walk around and you see empty buildings and for lease signs. You walk in Boulder's nicest neighborhoods and the windows are dark at night. It's to ask that question: should property in Boulder work for the people who live here or just the people who own it?

SPEAKER_04 4:03

Organizers with Vacancy to Vitality, including Jill Grano, whose voice you just heard, said they plan to pull their petition once the alternative tax has secured a spot on the ballot. Listen to our interview with Vacancy to Vitality on the April 1st episode or on our Patreon at patreon.com slash boulder frequency pod. Netherland has a new mayor. It was a rare close race in the mountain town of 1500. Early results showed current mayor Billy Giblin up by just one vote over his challenger, town trustee Nicole Sterling. After military and overseas ballots were counted, Sterling was up by one vote in an unofficial tally. That tight margin triggered an automatic recount, the results of which were announced late Monday. Sterling won 261 to Gibblins 258, a gap of just three votes. Adding further confusion, 24 ballots were accidentally mailed to minors who had pre-registered to vote, something Colorado law allows you to do at 15. Those ballots were not processed, according to a press release from Boulder County's clerk and recorder. The release did not state if or how many ineligible ballots had been filled out and returned. Hear more about Netherlands' mayoral race on the Mountain Ear podcast, dropping Thursday, April 23rd. Find that at T E M T N E A R dot com or wherever you get your podcast.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

So the books were the next thing. And then going after education, going after public education, it's hard to go after and convince everybody that every single teacher in your school is bad. There's a lot of teachers. There's a teachers union in pretty much every state. Teachers are united, teachers are strong. Librarians are sole practitioners. Librarians are the one in the school. And it's a lot easier to attack one person in the school and see that fear that the school is now a place where we should be afraid that something's wrong.

SPEAKER_04 6:26

It's National Library Week, April 19th to 25th. Chances are your local library has some special events going on. So head on over to their respective websites or branches to see what's up. In honor of the holiday, we'll be releasing a bonus episode featuring a film discussion of the documentary The Librarians. The film chronicled the nationwide book banning movement, including the forces behind it and the many librarians who were impacted. One of those was Michelle White. Michelle moved from Florida to Colorado after her district banned hundreds of books, mostly those featuring LGBTQ characters or discussing race and ethnicity. Michelle spoke at a January screening of the librarians in Superior, along with the film's producer, Janique Robillard, whose voice you heard just a moment ago. Listen to the full discussion with Michelle and Janique on our Patreon, or check back in Friday when that bonus episode drops. If you want to catch another free screening of the film, the librarians will be playing at the Aurora Central Library on Saturday, April 25th. Find that link in our show notes. Conversion therapy has been denounced by major medical, psychological, and child welfare organizations, such as the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics. Studies have shown children exposed to conversion therapy are at greater risk of PTSD, depression, substance use, and suicide. More than two dozen countries have full or partial bans on the practice. And a 2020 report from the United Nations likened certain methods used in conversion therapy to torture, including use of electric shocks, exposure to erotic imagery, and forced sexual contact. Colorado banned the practice in 2019 for people under the age of 18. A Colorado Springs therapist, with the assistance of conservative law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, argued the ban violated her free speech rights. The Supreme Court agreed in an eight to one vote. Justice Kintaji Brown Jackson was the lone voice of dissent, arguing that states have the ability to regulate medical care, which includes speech and advice. Following the ruling, local child psychologist Carol Calkins wrote a beautiful analysis of the case on her professional blog, Calkins TherapyforChan.com. We'll link to that in our show notes. Carol is a licensed clinical social worker psychotherapist with more than 37 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and families. In her blog, she says the term conversion therapy is a misnomer. Trying to change someone's identity is not therapy.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

I am deeply offended by the Supreme Court. This is legal ease that's hurting people more and again, you know, for politics. I feel like free speech can be weaponized. I feel like it has been in this case and other cases. Free speech is to protect, it's not to damage psychology, psychotherapists, psychiatric people. It is an art. What we do is an art, but it's also a science. It's evidence-based. It is within our ethics, our professional ethics, in my case, my National Association of Social Worker ethics, to do no harm first. It's more nuanced than this pet therapist in Colorado should be able to do what she wants to do because she has free speech. Not if she's harming. That's true for any clinician. If they're harming, they're wrong and should be reported.

SPEAKER_04 10:22

That's Carol speaking to me on the issue recently. It's understandable to be scared or concerned for children in your care, she said. But parents or therapists shouldn't try to change kids. That goes for sexuality and gender identity or anything else central to someone's understanding of themselves.

SPEAKER_03 10:39

It's important not to push someone to want to be what you want them to be, and that goes both ways. It's a broader even concept than conversion therapy. And I think part of the reason conversion therapy is such a target is because there's sex involved, sexuality involved. And people are uncomfortable in their own sexuality or other people's sexuality, and they need to project that onto their children because they are afraid. What does it mean if I have a gay child? How am I gonna handle this? How will this impact his life? Oh my god, is he okay? I just want him to be safe. Those are very normal, very protective feelings. That's okay. So take care of yourself, do what you need to, but always tell the child you will come back and talk with them and listen to them. People like to talk, but they don't like to hear. If you don't have your community, your family, the people closest to you on board, and they're telling you, they're telling you that you are not what you know you are, then that blows the entire identity for the person.

SPEAKER_04 11:50

Carol believes the ruling leaves the door open for Colorado's ban to be rewritten. In her concurring opinion, Justice Elena Kagan wrote, regulations of medical speech can be constitutional if they are more, quote, viewpoint neutral. Advocates have also noted that medical malpractice lawsuits can still be brought against practitioners of conversion therapy. Just two days after the Supreme Court decision, Colorado lawmakers introduced a bill to remove the statute of limitations on cases brought by clients who experience harm from conversion therapy. Longmont Representative Karen McCormick was a sponsor. The bill passed the House by a vote of 40 to 23, according to Colorado Newsline. The Supreme Court ruling could still expose thousands of children to a discredited medical procedure proven to cause significant harm, offering relief only after the damage has been done. Kelly Robinson, president of the nation's largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, condemned the ruling, saying, quote, Today's reckless decision means more American kids will suffer. Despite Boulder's liberal reputation, these issues are local too. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, once owned a house near Naiwat. He sold it when he was named to the court in 2017. Boulder-based youth homelessness organization, Together, has previously said they serve many kids who are on the streets because of their parents' discomfort with their sexual orientation or gender identity. Carol has experienced that in her practice too, with parents often requesting that she make their child conform to the social norms associated with their assigned gender. The best thing parents can do for their kids, Carol says, is to approach any issue with curiosity rather than judgment.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Open-ended questions are critical in parenting in general, not only in this situation. Tell me about this. I'm wondering if, first part, tell me more about this, second part, listen. Third part, well, listen, hear them. Third part, respond non-judgmentally.

SPEAKER_04 14:00

In other recent court rulings with ties to children's mental health, social media companies Meta and Google were found negligent in a civil case in California, with Meta losing a separate additional case in New Mexico. The California lawsuit garnered tons of media attention, with many legal experts calling it a landmark judgment. A woman brought the case against the makers of YouTube and Instagram, alleging that use of the platforms as a young child contributed to her depression and anxiety. A jury found the technology was designed to be addictive, and the companies did not employ adequate protections for young users. The$6 million award was nominal for the trillion-dollar companies, but it was the first time a court found that social media can be treated as a defective, harmful product. Separately, Meta lost a$375 million lawsuit in New Mexico for failing to protect minors from sexual predators on their apps, which include Facebook and Instagram. That case represents the first state victory against a social media company. In discussing social media and screen time with her clients, Carol said it's important families have defined rules for their kids, stick to them, and balance digital lives with real-world activities and interaction.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

If it's a two-parent household or more parents than that, be on the same page before. Don't discuss how much screen time they should have in front of the child or the children. You show a united front. I have seen more than I would care to of people that kind of use their children as weapons against each other, specifically with this issue. That's confusing. I know some people who said, Well, when I'm at home, this is their screen time role. When you're at home, this is your screen time role. And that is confusing and damaging. Things need to be consistent. And of course, a child wants screen time. We all have way too much screen time, I think, including me. It's a balance, right? Okay, you you have the iPad to watch these shows or to do this activity. And then as part of the agreement, we're gonna go outside and take a walk or go to the playground or engage with other people. It isn't an either or. It's uh a balance. I don't know if you know, but I can tell when I've I've had too much screen time. I don't want to go out, I don't do anything. I'm like, oh, I go to the store tomorrow. That's not healthy either. As I'm an adult. When I know for me, when I am in that spot, that's when I very consciously say, oh gosh, time to get in the car and go to King Subers, time to go for a walk, time to pet the dogs.

SPEAKER_04 16:46

And I suppose that's even more important to developing brains that are still for forming all the neural pathways.

SPEAKER_03 16:52

Neural pathways, that's I'm so glad you brought that up. Like the Oregon Trail Ruts, they they they're once they're formed, it's I it's possible to change them. And I do that in a lot of my work to help people change, but it's harder.

SPEAKER_04 17:08

I'm doing that work now, and I I want to say you can save your child thousands of dollars in therapy. You can read more about all the things Carol and I discussed at the many links in our show notes. I highly recommend her write-up on the Supreme Court decision and conversion therapy. Find that at Colkins Therapyforchange.com. On our next episode, we'll hear about a long-awaited train that hopes to connect the communities of the front range. And I'm not talking about fast tracks. Tune in next week for more details. Before you go, here's one more thing.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

It doesn't demand a timeline. Empathy just says, tell me more. It's present without an agenda. It's staying in the conversation when it gets awkward. It's resisting the urge to say at least. Choosing to say I'm so sorry, that's really hard. When people feel seen like that, the shame loosens its grip. Because shame thrives in secrecy and silence. When empathy brings the struggle into the light, when a struggle is in the light, it becomes livable. It becomes bearable instead of something you have to hide from. Hope isn't born from denial. It's born from connection. We don't wake up hopeful because someone told us to be positive. Someone reminded us that our pain didn't make us unlovable. Someone proved that we could be honest and still belong.