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05_28_24_am_headlines2 John Kelin
Bolder Boulder
An estimated 47,000 people turned out for the 44th annual Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day.
The race went through the city to its traditional finish line in Folsom Field, where Conner Mantz won the Elite Men’s race with a time of 29 minutes 12 seconds, and Grace Loibach Nawowuna won the Elite Women’s race in 32 minutes 45 seconds.
As is tradition, the race had a festive atmosphere, and many of those who took part said they weren’t so much competing as they were out to have a good time. The Daily Camera reports that many were in costume, and as focused on getting a beer at the end, as others were on establishing a personal best.
Molly Grabill won the women’s Citizen’s Race for the second year in a row, the first repeat winner in more than twenty years. She finished with a time of 33 minutes 39 seconds.
In the men’s citizen’s race, Aidan Reed took first place with a time of 30 minutes and two seconds.
The Bolder Boulder is the sixth largest race of its kind in the United States, according to Denver7.
Los Seis
A new memorial honoring Los Seis de Boulder, the Boulder Six, will be dedicated in a ceremony in Boulder this evening, beginning at 6pm.
The sculpture remembers six people who were active in the Chicano Student Movement, and killed in two car bombings in Boulder in 1974.
Tonight’s dedication is at the corner of 17th Street and Pearl in downtown Boulder.
Magnus White
The woman charged with hitting and killing Boulder cyclist Magnus White has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide, and has a jury trial scheduled for next December.
Investigators say that 23-year-old Yeva Smilianska was driving a Toyota Matrix southbound on the Diagonal Highway just south of 63rd Street last summer, as White rode his bike on its right shoulder. Eyewitnesses to the incident said a Toyota was driving erratically when it veered into White and struck him, according to Fox31, citing the arrest affidavit.
White, who was seventeen years old and about to race in mountain bike World Championships in Scotland, died later that night.
Smilianska told authorities at the time that her car was experiencing mechanical issues. An arrest affidavit said that she appeared to have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Vehicular homicide is a Class 4 Felony. Smilianska has a motions hearing scheduled for September 4th.
The family of Magnus White filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Smilianska last week, seeking more than $100,000.
Snowpack
Colorado’s snowpack is running above average this year. But in spite of that, we may be entering a dry period.
Warm conditions in southwestern Colorado have resulted in a faster-than-usual melting of the snowpack, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Services. But in other parts of the state, snowmelt has been delayed by major snowstorms that hit back in late April and early May.
Colorado Politics is reporting that we’re probably heading into a La Niña summer and fall, which means dry conditions across much of the state. While drought conditions are beginning to appear in some areas, most Colorado reservoirs are well above average.
State climatologists say that so far, 2024 has been one of Colorado’s warmest years since record keeping began 129 years ago.
Boulder Airport
A citizens’ group advocating for the closure of Boulder Municipal Airport has filed an election complaint against two other groups that want to keep the airport open.
The citizen’s group, The Airport Neighborhood Campaign, has been circulating petitions for two ballot initiatives that would close the 96-year-old airport in northeast Boulder, and in its place, create a neighborhood made up of at least 50% permanently affordable housing.
This group has filed a complaint against two pro-airport groups – the Boulder Airport Association and the Boulder Aviation Association. According to the Daily Camera, the complaint alleges these groups have been working to oppose the ballot petitions, without disclosing their contributions or expenditures as required by law.
The complaint says the pro-airport groups have been receiving contributions since at least May 15. It also says that one of the groups has hired a public relations professional who has created a new website and social media site for the group.
The City of Boulder has scheduled an in-person public open house about the airport on Tuesday, July 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Via Mobility Services, located at 2855 63rd St. The goal of this open house is to understand the community’s vision for the future of the Boulder Municipal Airport.
Wildfire Mitigation Goats
Hundreds of goats are spread out in Boulder County open space, and tasked with eating vegetation, as part of a wildfire mitigation effort.
At least 700 goats have been in Louisville alone since the 21st, and more are in Superior, in what’s being called “targeted grazing,” the careful use of livestock for vegetation management.
The goats, owned by Goat Green LLC,are encircled by electric fences and guarded by dogs, according to the Denver Post.
Excessive vegetation, dried by months of drought, was a major contributor to the 2021 Marshall Mesa fire, which killed two people and caused more than $2 billion dollars in property damage.
A similar mitigation effort was underway on Davidson Mesa earlier this month, using cattle.
Weather
In today’s weather forecast … summer-like temperatures, with highs in the upper seventies across the Front Range. We should see increasing cloudiness as the day moves along, with a twenty percent chance of rain by mid-afternoon.
In Boulder, the high today is 78 degrees … 81 in Denver and Fort Collins, and in Nederland, today’s high is 64 degrees.
