WEEK OF FEBRUARY 13, 2025
VOLUME 80 | ISSUE 17
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King Soopers takes steps to handle strike Grocer hires temp workers to keep stores open BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
A sample of the Colorado mushroom Agaricus julius. Local students and a new legislator are working to have the fungus declared Colorado’s official COURTESY OF COLORADO MUSHROOMS mushroom.
Horizon students champion state mushroom State Rep. Phillips helps with effort to declare state fungus BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
All hail the Agaricus julius! At least that’s rallying cry for a group of Horizon High School students in Thornton and State Rep. Jacque Phillips. They hope the rest of Colorado will join the chorus after 2025 Colorado Legislature makes the Agaricus julius, the state’s official mushroom. Utah and California have their own lawfully anointed mushrooms. It’s high time Colorado has done the same, said Phillips, who is co-sponsoring HB25-1091, which was scheduled for its first hearing Mon-
day, Feb. 3, at the State Capitol. Sen. Kyle Mullica is the bill’s other co-sponsor “This is something a group of mushroom scientists – also known as mycologists – have been working on for years,” Phillips said. She was drawn into the lobbying effort by members of Horizon High’s Political Club, who wanted her help in drafting legislation. “It’s something they wanted to get designated for Colorado and it’s a great way to learn how legislation is made before it becomes a law,” Phillips said. “Now, let’s try to get Colorado its own mushroom.”
VOICES: PAGE 8 | CULTURE: PAGE 10 | BRIEFS: PAGE 16
‘Not that kind of mushroom’
Phillips is quick to point out that the Agaricus julius can be eaten but it is not a “magical mushroom” which contains the chemical psilocin, that when ingested, can cause hallucinations. “It’s not that kind of a mushroom,” she said. Agaricus julius is a uniquely Colorado mushroom because it is typically found 9,000 feet under a spruce tree, according to Colorado Mushroom.com. It has brown scales on its cap with a shaggy stem, especially when young. “This is a beautiful mushroom and once you see and smell one its one that you’ll
never forget,” according to Colorado Mushroom. “It reminds me of a portobello mushroom only much better. It smells distinctively of a fragrant cherry almond. One of the very best Agaricus for the table.” The mushroom also breaks down the decay on the forest floor, which will help prevent forest fires, Phillips said. She hopes this kind of legislation can draw bi-partisan support. “It’s the type of thing I think we can all get behind,” she said. “Which is unusual these days.” The proposed legislation will have its first hearing on Monday at 9 a.m. before the State Affairs Committee at the State Capitol.
As day one of a planned twoweek walkout began on Feb. 6, about a dozen King Soopers employees were up before dawn, pacing in front of their store in Centennial. Some walked the perimeter on the sidewalks as cars passed by. All carried white signs with red lettering asking customers to not patronize their employer. Their union representative with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 forbade them to speak to a reporter, even as one employee questioned why not? Why aren’t they allowed to tell the people why they are outside the store instead of inside? Union officials said they would talk during a news conference later in the day. According to the union, more than 10,000 King Soopers employees in the Front Range are protesting unfair labor practices, which allege surveilling and disrupting discussions between workers and union reps. A “last best and final offer” from the company was rejected in mid-January and plans to strike began. As of 9 a.m. Feb. 6, no strikers were in front of the two King Soopers in Brighton, nor at the grocery chain’s location at 120th and Colorado Boulevard in Thornton. SEE STRIKE, P6
2025
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