Letters to the editor: Bruce Randolph; GOP: Spense Havlick; federal dollars
May 14—Angie Parham: Bruce Randolph: Who will fill shoes?
I was sad to read that Bruce Randolph, Jr. recently passed away. When I first moved to Boulder in 1999, I felt less homesick for the South because I only lived a few blocks away from Daddy Bruce's Bar-B-Que, a beacon of comfort that tasted a little bit like home. So much wonderful came out of that modest barbeque shack! As Boulder changes, I wonder who will play music, tell stories, and feed bellies the way Bruce Randolph, Jr. and his father before him did.
The past year and a half has been a meditation on loss for many of us, and I want to send my condolences to the Randolph family for their loss. Bruce Randolph, Jr.'s passing is also a loss for Boulder. Will there be space in Boulder for another Bruce Randolph? I certainly hope so. The website Travel Boulder has a list of Black-owned businesses we can support in Boulder county. In addition to owning Daddy Bruce's Bar-B-Que, Bruce Randolph, Jr. was an associate minister at the Second Baptist Church in Boulder, a venerable Black church founded in 1908. I encourage people to visit the Second Baptist Church's website and learn about its history in Boulder. That congregation has carried an unwavering faith in the goodness of humanity, fought for justice and equality, taught about forgiveness and salvation, supported education, celebrated the arts, and created community for not only African Americans, but also all of Boulder. If anyone wishes to honor his memory, the family has requested donations be made in his name to the Second Baptist Church. You can visit the church's website at www.sbcboulder.com. I give thanks for his life and all the good work done for Boulder through the Second Baptist Church.
Angie Parham
Boulder
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Brent Bickel: GOP: Outside the echo chamber
I am surprised to still find opinion submissions to Jane Meagher's piece discussing the benefits of our exciting, evolving Republican party. What surprised me even more was the lack of understanding as to how the right views the issues of the day and the robust discussions that are taking place. I encourage those brave enough to peek outside Boulder's echo chamber to check out the Candace Owens interviews with Dr. Carol Swain, (Princeton), and Dr. Ben Carson, (Yale), Megyn Kelly's interview with John McWhorter, (Columbia), The Dershow podcast by Alan Dershowitz, (Harvard), Substack threads by Pulitzer prize winning journalist Glenn Grenwald, (NYU), and Bari Weiss, (Columbia), and articles by Victor Davis Hanson, (Stanford). Delving deeper, you can catch up on what is happening in DC with the Verdict podcast by Ted Cruz, (Harvard), enjoy some entertaining 5-minute videos from Prager U, (Dennis Prager, Columbia), and watch Laura Ingraham's, (Dartmouth), show on Fox followed by a movie from her Dartmouth alum Dinesh D'Souza. For local commentary I suggest our own Ross Kaminsky from 6 — 10 AM on 630 KHOW. Taking advantage of these resources will enlighten your understanding of the positions from the right so that you can submit informed opinion pieces instead of regurgitating left-wing narratives and dated Republican stereotypes.
Brent Bickel
Broomfield
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Nicky Marone: Spense Havlick: CU's endless expansion
I was glad to finally see someone, in this case Spence Havlick, questioning the endless expansion of CU. Their hunger for more land, more buildings, more everything borders on rapacious. CU South may not be Open Space, but it is a riparian wetland and as such is a limited type of land mass in the world and should be preserved. With enrollment down and new ways to educate students without face-to-face encounters in classrooms, it's hard to figure out why CU needs to keep expanding. Perhaps to collect tuition, which is unfortunately necessary because of the state's shameful lack of contributing funds to higher ed.
The complicating factor, and this must be acknowledged, is that CU is of huge benefit to this city. It is the major economic driver, attracting brilliant professionals, providing a pipeline of young people to the complex professions of the future, as well as providing art, culture and probably the only diversity we have in this town.
There are those who will say, "You are just one more entitled, aging, white, ruling class land owner who hates encroachment on your valued lands." Yes! But not for the reasons you suggest. These lands should be valued for the whole community, protecting wild life corridors and riparian habitats, preserving beauty, preventing flooding, and saving lives. Unless we organize, CU will bully its way through. The most powerful tool available to city council is to refuse to annex the land: No water, no sewer, no inhabitable buildings. Simple! Join a group. Make it happen. Support affordable housing in areas of already-built environments by allowing more ADU's, and relaxing height allowances in the office area between Arapahoe and Valmont east of 55th. Otherwise, CU will be coming for you next in its quenchless thirst for more land. Enough is enough.
Nicky Marone
Boulder
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Jim Faller: Federal dollars: Who is really paying
The headline from Monday's Daily Camera — Billion's in federal dollars start pouring into Colorado — is misleading; and its writer, Mr. Wingerter of the Denver Post, surely knows this.
There is NO Federal Money Tree from which these Billions will or can flow. Rather they will have to come from the tax dollars paid by the middle class who, unlike the 'rich', can't afford the number of
lawyers required to escape from paying. The first sentence in the second paragraph of this article, "The
money comes from the American Rescue Plan"...is also misleading. This debt is presently piled on the backs of the middle class — where it will remain for years to come — while this group continues paying
far more than their fair share of today's and tomorrow's tax burden. And that's what the article should have said.
Jim Faller
Boulder
