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The frequency is frequently frequently.

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Good morning, Boulder County. It's Wednesday, August 12th. I'm Shay Castle, and this is the Frequency. Weekly local podcast covering the news, events, and voices shaping the Boulder Valley. Today's episode is brought to you by Boulder Bookstore. Come visit Boulder Bookstore, Boulder's community bookstore on the Pearl Street Mall. Besides having an amazing selection of books, they host author events every week. On Monday, August 17th, come see Eileen Flanagan, author of Common Ground: How the Crisis of the Earth is saving us from our illusion of separation. The event starts at 6.30 p.m. Visit BoulderBookstore.com for more details and to see the full list of upcoming events, purchase tickets to attend, and support the store's Literacy Foundation, which donates books to schools and students in need. That link again is boulderbookstore.com. We've got a nice roundup of news for you from across the county. It's an all headlines edition of the Frequency. School is back in session. Kids in Boulder Valley School District are heading back this week. Well, the first day of classes for St. Brain Valley students is next week. A huge congratulation to parents for making it through another summer. At CU Boulder, classes resume on Thursday, August 20th. Move-in starts this Friday, August 14th. So watch out for traffic and other impacts. Two undergrads and three law school students are suing CU Boulder over policies and practices they say violate students' rights of free speech. The group is challenging the university's actions around two demonstrations held last fall. Over a dozen students were disciplined for participating in a protest of Lockheed Martin and other military contractors during a campus job fair. Two of the defendants allege they were suspended for wearing t-shirts with political slogans on them, saying, divest from death and Lockheed kills kids. The university's policies prohibit clothing with political slogans inside the University Memorial Center, or UMC. In anticipation of protests, CU also required advanced notice of planned demonstrations, banned chanting or singing within the building, and attempted to restrict free speech activities to a specific area outside the UMC. All these policies violate Colorado's Students' Right to Speak Act, the lawsuit alleges. In a press release announcing the suit, attorney Dan Williams said, quote, at their best, universities are places that welcome and nurture student activism because it furthers their mission to develop engaged and involved citizens post-graduation. In response to recent protests against U.S. military support for Israel, however, CU Boulder has taken the opposite approach. Williams has also represented or assisted with two other lawsuits brought against CU for its crackdown on pro-Palestine demonstrations and groups on campus. Petition to overturn Erie's deal with an oil and gas company has enough signatures to force a vote of the general public. That's according to a report by the Longmont Times Call. Residents began organizing after Erie's town council voted to allow SM Energy to drill underneath 180 acres of town land, reversing an earlier rejection. Erie is set to receive a share of the project's revenue, as well as an exchange of land. SM Energy needs Erie's property to access a larger area for drilling. The question will now go to all Erie voters in November or December. In other oil and gas news, Colorado residents and environmental groups can sue the Suncor oil refinery if they can prove the state has not done enough to limit pollution. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling earlier this month, overturning a previous decision. A coalition has been attempting to sue Suncor over repeated and ongoing violations, arguing the state's enforcement of pollution laws have not led to meaningful change. Meanwhile, Attorney General Phil Weiser urged the U.S. Supreme Court to let Colorado's justices resolve a lawsuit between local governments and energy companies. Since 2018, the city and county of Boulder and San Miguel County have been attempting to sue Suncor and ExxonMobil for pollution and environmental damages caused by oil and gas activity in the area. Last year, Colorado's Supreme Court ruled the case could proceed within the state. The companies appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing federal law shields them from liability related to in-state damages. Wiser was joined by attorneys general in several Democratic-led states in filing a brief with the Supreme Court asking them to allow the issue to be resolved at the state level. The case is one of dozens across the country seeking compensation for local harms related to climate change-causing activities, such as oil and gas drilling.

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It is wildly different from Boulder to the Mountains. Quite frankly, three county commissioners trying to cover all of these issues as bonkers. It's just a massive job. And again, wildly different from one corner to the other. And those issues deserve serious attention. And it's like anything, if you're gonna represent those people and you have a district that is as diverse as this county is as well, you gotta go there. You gotta be with the people, you have to be relatable, you have to understand what the problems are, and we don't have that.

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That's Mason Moyer, an organizer with Big Tent Boco. The campaign was collecting signatures to place a question on the ballot that, if passed, would add two county commissioners to the current governing body of three. That campaign was successful, and Boulder County residents will this fall answer that question. Learn more by listening to our January 7th episode. One thing that won't be on your ballot this November is the formation of a downtown development authority in Boulder. Last week, City Council had a tie vote on whether or not to advance the measure to downtown businesses, property owners, and residents for a vote. The 4-4 tie means the measure failed. Other items moving to Boulder's ballot are a $400 million loan to fund the city's aging rec centers and infrastructure, and a tax on empty or second homes. Learn more about the vacancy tax by listening to our April 1st episode. We'll have more election content in the coming weeks. Longmonsters rejoice. The city is finally getting its own bus to the airport. The Longmont to DIA Skyride Bus Route, also known as Route AL, is set to begin service September 27th. Buses will leave from the 8th and Kaufman Park and Ride every hour between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The route also benefits residents in Naiwat and Lafayette. The AL will make stops at both towns' park and rides before heading to DIA. In other RTD news, the board last week rejected fare increases across the district, but $20 million in service cuts will be needed to help balance the budget. No specific cuts have been announced. The transit agency typically adjusts schedules three times per year. That's all for today's show. Find sources for all our headlines, as well as a link to the episode transcript in our show notes. On Friday, we're joined by Pedro Silva, a local minister and artist, for a conversation about joy, grief, and the myth of the good man. Those are some of the topics Pedro and two others will cover at an upcoming August 20th event at Boulder Canyon Theater. Tune in Friday to learn more. We're going to end today's episode with a clip from Pedro talking about a recent service at Unity Columbine Spiritual Center. Before you go, here's Pedro with one more thing.

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Or spirituality or whatever. In a lot of ways, it can feel useless sometimes because all it does is seem to maintain status quo or worse. But I'm honest enough to admit that. And even though I know the intentions of it, but yesterday it felt like, hey, I think the world may be able to get better intentionally. We're not just wading in the water, just kind of, or like doggy paddling, waiting to drown, like how I felt after my brother died. I could see the shoreline for the first time in all these years. And I've been in church since I was like existing, and I'm 50 now. And this is the first time in my life I feel like I can see a shoreline,