Wendy Kinal: Boulder city leadership: Joseph represents all residents
Now that it is time to choose a new mayor pro tem, I am writing in support of Junie Joseph and ask that the City Council strongly consider electing her to the position. Councilmember Joseph has a progressive voice that I feel very much represents the Boulder community.
Additionally, the area of Boulder that I live in is home to many immigrants, and feel that she, as a Black woman and immigrant herself, would really help to amplify the voices of all of the members of our population. Boulder could improve its equity and diversity, its housing affordability options, and more. And Councilmember Joseph would help facilitate progress with her intellect, heart, and experience.
Wendy Kinal
Boulder
Sarah Klein: Epilepsy awareness: First aid training available
November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month (NEAM) and the Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado is challenging everyone to get seizure first aid certified. The foundation is hoping to train at least 2,020 people during NEAM to increase the knowledge, skills, and confidence in recognizing seizures and safely administering seizure first aid.
The foundation recently launched the first and only seizure recognition and first aid certification training to support the 3.4 million people in the U.S. living with epilepsy. For years, the foundation has partnered with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to build nationwide programs to ensure school personnel, first responders, seniors, caregivers, and the public are better trained to recognize seizures and administer first aid.
And for the first time ever, the seizure first aid training is offered as a certification program to the public. The free seizure recognition and first aid certification incorporates the foundation’s approach to seizure first aid — #StaySafeSide. Traditional first aid certification programs do not go into enough detail about seizures or offer specific instructions for seizure first aid.
There are nearly 60,000 Coloradans currently living with epilepsy. One in 26 people will develop epilepsy and one in 10 will have seizures during their lifetimes.
Chances are, someone you know has epilepsy. Join the Seizure First Aid Challenge this November and help save a life. For more information, please contact us at info@epilepsycoloraodo.org or 303-377-9774.
Sarah Klein
Greenwood Village
Audrey Nelson: Supreme Court appointment: Some advice for Barrett
Amy Coney Barrett, keep your rosaries off our ovaries and your hands off ObamaCare.
Audrey Nelson
Boulder
Jessica Bellamy: Climate change: Going vegan can mitigate it
Is Colorado mountain life compatible with climate change?
As we moved through fall, firefighters battled the Cameron Peak Fire, now the largest fire in state history. Alongside this blaze, a new fire started near Jamestown, a late entry to a fire season that should have been tapering off.
As our climate changes, bringing with it more intense and dangerous fires, fire seasons extend. Parts of the United States now experience fire seasons over a month longer than they were 35 years prior.
None of us wants a future where recovery gaps between fire seasons are sliced thinner every year. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, which affect temperatures, weather patterns, and fire seasons. We can make this change through a compassionate and impactful decision: going vegan.
According to University of Oxford research, eating vegan is probably the single biggest way we can reduce our impact on Earth, in terms of emissions, ocean health, and use of land and water. Let’s enjoy Colorado’s stunning wildlife into the future, by showing kindness to animals and the Earth today. For a free vegan starter kit, visit www.PETA.org.
Jessica Bellamy
Norfolk, VA
Carolyn Bninski: Julian Assange: Press freedom is at stake
For a month, Julian Assange, an Australian journalist and founder of Wikileaks, was on trial in London. The British magistrate will likely decide in January 2021 to extradite Assange to the U.S. for a second trial.
This U.S. trial represents the most important case of freedom of the press in a generation or more. The outcome will determine whether U.S. journalists will be able to hold our government accountable for its crimes.
In this case, President Donald Trump’s administration claims that it has the power to decide which journalists are legitimately protected by the First Amendment and the methods journalists can use for soliciting and protecting whistleblowers. This overarching government power is being applied to every journalist on the planet.
The message of the attack on Assange and the press is to never reveal a secret of the U.S. government. If you do, we can come after you. What journalist will dare to publish the crimes of the government when she sees Assange rotting in jail for the rest of his life?
Freedom of the press is in grave danger. If the people of the U.S. don’t stand up for press freedom in this case, it will disappear. Once this new precedent is set, it will be the standard from now on.
While the mainstream media has barely covered the case, websites like https://consortiumnews.com/ have done extensive coverage. Without an informed public and activism to protect Assange and freedom of the press, our democracy is headed for destruction.
On Oct. 2, U.S. Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Thomas Massie introduced House Resolution 1175, which “calls for the United States to drop all charges and efforts to extradite Julian Assange.” Please contact U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse and U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet at 202-224-3121 and ask them to support this resolution.
Carolyn Bninski
Boulder
