This one’s for Dolly
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FREE Aug. 27, 2026 Vol. XXV, No. 33 durangotelegraph.com
inside
T H E
O R I G I N A L
I N D I E
W E E K L Y
L I N E
O N
D U R A N G O
&
B E Y O N D
River requiem
Getting in the door
All hail the Nord
Drought comes for one of Colorado’s last wild rivers p5
As City ramps up housing efforts, some still left out p8
A chat with SWCO’s king of country, punk & rock p11
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lineup
4 La Vida Local
Tree therapy An ancient oak puts our tiny place in the universe into perspective by David Feela
4 Thumbin’ It 5 Writers on the Range
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6-7 Soapbox
River requiem
8-10 Local News
As drought takes its toll, is one of Colorado’s last wild rivers drying up? by Jacob Richards / Writers on the Range
11 Between the Beats 12-13 Stuff to Do
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13 Ask Rachel
Living on the edge
Durango makes strides in affordable housing, but some still left out by Missy Votel
15 Haiku Movie Review On the cover A rainbow graces the skies during a brief rain shower Sunday evening in Durango. As the late great Dolly Parton said, “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." RIP.
All hail the Nord A chat with SWCO’s king of rock, punk, country and everything in between by Stephen Sellers
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PIT CREW: JENNAYE DERGE jennaye@durangotelegraph.com STAR-STUDDED CAST: David Feela, Jacob Richards, Stephen Sellers, Lainie Maxson, Jesse Anderson, Rob Brezsny & Clint Reid
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4 Sign of the Downfall
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Ear to the ground: “She was the only religious person who didn’t irritate me.” – Dolly, our queen, who managed to bridge the American divide
Goodnight, moon
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RegularOccurrences
If you’re reading this before 8:30 p.m. Thursday, there’s still time to catch tonight’s lunar eclipse. Although technically deemed a “partial” eclipse, the celestial event is technically a partial lunar eclipse, since Earth’s shadow will cover just a little more than 90% of the full moon across Colorado. But it’s about as close to a total eclipse as we’ll get for another several years, Nick Conant, with CU’s Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, told the Denver Post. For the astronomically uninclined, lunar eclipses happen when the Earth moves between the sun and moon, casting a shadow upon the moon. “In this case, the moon isn’t going directly through the center of Earth’s shadow. It will be skirting along the edge, and that will make it appear about 96% covered at the maximum,” Conant said. As an added bonus, sky watchers don’t have to stay up past their bedtime to see the eclipse. The Earth’s shadow is expected to start covering the moon at 8:34 p.m. with maximum coverage peaking at 10:13 p.m., according to the Denver Astronomical Society. By midnight, the eclipse will be over. Best of all, Durango’s forecast calls for clear skies Thursday night. Unlike solar eclipses, which are dangerous to view with the naked eye, lunar eclipses are safe to look at directly. Sky watchers can even use a telescope or binoculars to get a closer look without risking their safety. While there may be some reddish or amber hues, Colorado won’t likely get a full “blood moon” show, Conant said. “Blood moon would be the place where it starts to appear a light-ish amber color, or you even get to see it becoming kind of a red color,” Conant said. That’s caused by the sun’s light refracting through Earth’s atmosphere and effectively “casting a sunset onto the moon,” he added. The next lunar eclipse over Colorado won’t take place until June 2029, when Colorado is in the line for a total lunar eclipse. This month’s full moon is the Sturgeon Moon, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. Aug. 27, 2026 n 3
LaVidaLocal And the champion is … The city of Exeter in the UK shelters 150,000 residents with an aspiring secondary and university student population that pulses through the streets like a school of fish. Mornings and afternoons, literally hundreds arrive and depart by train and bus, packing the sidewalks on their slow walk toward enlightenment. Even an obscure Joanne Rowling studied at the university in the 1980s after her bid to attend Oxford was declined. At the time, she was an uncelebrated writer, but nobody can claim she didn’t pay attention. This is not about Harry Potter. My wife and I visited the UK in 2025, renting a small second-floor flat just a 15-minute hike from the campus. We explored it many times during our twomonth stay, walking along a narrow strip of public green space called the Hoopern Valley, a name first recorded in 1225, probably derived from “the place where barrels are made.” This steeply sided acreage became our favorite trek. We always paused beside an ancient English Oak towering above us, its height and girth so extraordinary, it reminded me of Tolkien’s Ent that lifted hobbits off the ground to rescue them. We called it Methuselah, nearly a thousand years old. That tree, a humble caretaker of our planet, lifted our imaginations, too. For those who pay little attention to trees (including barrel-makers) remember your biology: trees are living and breathing organisms, providing vital support for the earth’s health and well-being. They are so much more than mere convenient resources. Trees do not breathe like humans. Instead, they inhale carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis. Each time I complain about humanity’s indifference to climate change, I pinch myself, because I’m one of them, too. We thoroughly explored the university’s grounds, a virtual arboretum where paths wander through a living community of “champion trees” designated and marked by the UK’s national Tree Register database with a little blue badge. In America, when people visit California’s Redwoods or Sequoia National Park, they gasp out of sheer wonder at those ancient trees, but Exeter is different. The campus is not a tourist destination but an informal scientific research, teaching and appreciation environment. I’ve noticed that when it’s not raining, students prefer to read, study, cuddle or even nap under a tree rather than in the library.
Billionaire Bill Gates thinks planting trees to fight the severity of our climate crisis is “nonsense.” Our English oak might rustle its leaves if I mentioned his opinion. To be fair, Gates is not anti-tree. A climate action group named Greenmatters, along with CEO billionaire Marc Benioff’s support, funneled $300 million toward tree-planting strategies. Asked if planting enough trees could take care of the climate issue, Gates said that planting even a trillion trees might eliminate only 6% of our global carbon dioxide emissions – a primitive way to fight climate change. He quipped, “I mean, are we the science people, or are we the idiots?” Gates uses some of his wealth on a few innovative climate strategies, like backing a hundred startup companies dedicated to lowering emissions if they can prove a reduction “by at least half a gigaton.” He also supports including carbon taxes to fund future green technologies and scientific research to find a cheaper substitute for palm oil. If our collective billionaires could dedicate a least half a gigaton of their wealth to fighting climate change, maybe the trees would step up to do more low-tech groundwork, like sprouting more trees. In 2025, Forbes identified 924 American billionaires among the globe’s 3,428, cranking out their wealth by using this planet for seed money. One of them is our president who thinks climate change is a hoax. Addressing the UN Assembly, he said predictions about the impacts of climate change have been exaggerated or are incorrect, calling them “the greatest con job perpetrated by the world.” Just like an old lumber tycoon, Trump responds by simply slashing and burning his way through global accords like the Paris Agreement (he called it a scam) and nearly 50 years of our federal government’s commitment to address global climate issues. The White House maintains a gallery of former presidential portraits, which include quite a few rogues. The UK’s national Tree Register database doesn’t just paint pictures. It ensures that trees with cultural importance and historical significance live long lives. We posed for a picture beside the tree before heading home. There was no way a selfie would ever fit Methuselah into the frame, until a student hiking to class paused and offered to take our picture from the top of a hill. We are the tiniest of specks, waving our arms at the bottom left corner. The remarkable tree towers above us all. – David Feela
Thumbin’It Despite the recent SCOTUS ruling in favor of Trump derailing voting by mail, Colorado will still mail out ballots as planned, a proven way to increase voter accessibility and turnout. Because last we checked, we still live in a democracy ... don’t we? Meta was just ordered to pay $17 billion for harming teens’ mental health by getting them hooked on social media, and Bill Gates wrote an op-ed sounding the alarm about AI harming society and children. Is it too late to put the Genie back in the bottle? Hey everybody, school is back in session, fall is in the air, and we even got a few drops of rain. Could it be that the bloody hot summer of 2026 is finally over?
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SignoftheDownfall: First the Dolores River dried up, and now the lower part of the Gunnison River is expected to run dry this fall, yet another stark reminder of climate change. The new normal sucks. A new study published in the British Medical Journal found that at least 25% of former NFL players have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative dementia that includes memory loss, aggression, confusion, depression, impaired judgement, suicidal tendencies and anxiety. Suddenly, we’re not so excited for the season. Seriously? As if things couldn’t get worse, now we’ve lost Dolly and Tim Curry, of “Rocky Horror” fame – two beloved queer icons. At leas this year’s “Rocky Horror” will likely go all-out in Curry’s honor.
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I am Your Flocker An unknown man who signed in only as Darth Vader gave a speech in favor of Flock cameras at the Aug. 19 San Diego City Council meeting. Dressed in a low-budget Vader suit, the man claimed that “the emperor is a fan of Flock because it helps track rebel scum and ex-girlfriends.” Vader’s satire proved that some heroes do wear capes, but City Council missed the joke because they voted to let law enforcement keep using the cameras. Adding insult to injury, the viral effort to tell Californian meth-heads that Flock cameras contain 23 pounds of copper failed because each camera weighs only 3 pounds, and meth-heads are surprisingly good at math. So, for now, despite counter-culture’s best efforts, it looks like San Diego is truly flocked.
WritersontheRange
Eulogy for the Gunny Drought and heat threaten to forever alter one of Colorado’s last wild rivers by Jacob Richards
I
drove to the bluff overlooking the “Gunny” to process the sad news – news that hasn’t yet been made official – that by October, a big portion of the lower Gunnison River in western Colorado is expected to be dry. The official term is “fully dewatered.” Monsoons were supposed to be heavy this year. As I looked down at the river in late August, clouds in the distance appeared almost monsoonal. Wisps of rain streamed out, but they evaporated before reaching the parched ground. It just about made me cry. Below me, the North Fork of the Gunnison unceremoniously trickled into the Gunnison River at a place known as Pleasure Park, a weather-beaten outpost of civilization that’s one of the last, best-kept secrets in Colorado. The Gunnison River starts high in Central Colorado’s Elk Mountains and flows into Colorado’s largest body of water, Blue Mesa Reservoir, though currently it is only the second largest because of drought. Then it flows free through Black Canyon National Park, but only after most of its water gets diverted to irrigate farmland surrounding the towns of Delta and Montrose. The park is a gem, albeit one of the least visited in the nation. From above, there’s not much to do except walk to outlooks to stare at sheer, colorful rock walls on the other side and the thin ribbon of river 2,000 feet below. After leaving the park, the Gunny then flows through the remote yet accessible Gunnison Gorge Wilderness. In this thin crack of the earth, I’ve spent the past 12 summers working as a wilderness fly-fishing river guide. Accessible is a relative term. The hearty few that run this remote wild river get to the water by hiking a rough, 1.2-mile-long mule trail that drops steeply for almost 600 vertical feet. Even getting to the trailhead takes an hour and a half from the nearest town, and it’s on a four-wheel-drive road that’s been the death knell of many a low-clearance vehicle. Rocky on a good day, it can become impassable when wet. For those with the dough, a mule packer can be hired to transport boat and gear to the river. Those with the youth, knees and determination can backpack down rafts, frames, oars, and fishing and camping gear. Even elite guests, including former presidents who book fly-fishing trips with commercial guide services,
The Gunnison River courses through the Gunny Gorge after leaving the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. By October, a big portion of the lower Gunny is expected to run dry, an ominous sign for the future of the waterway./ BLM photo carry their personal gear down to the river. World-class fishing is why anybody makes the effort: 14 miles of wilderness Gold Medal water, with the action peaking in June when large hungry trout key in on an epic salmon-fly hatch. This stretch of river may be navigable, but it features 18 named technical rapids, and any one of them can humble experienced river runners. Rapids called “Improvise,” “Boulder Garden” and “Squeeze” can feel more like rock than water, and almost every rapid has ruined a trip at some point. The river is littered with rocks that also earned names, because they have strong personalities: “Queen of Hearts,” “The Table and Tombstone” and “Dicky Do.” Others carry the monikers of unlucky guides. All these barriers have kept crowds at bay, though now there’s a new constraint – 90-to-100-degree temperatures for days on end. The Gorge can remain runnable in 14-foot rafts down to about 300 cubic feet per second, but even then, it’s tight. Today, it’s running
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well below that, and the water is too warm for the fish. Most commercial trips have been canceled. Looking upriver into the Gorge, I don’t see any boats fishing their way out of the wilderness, and it doesn’t take much to imagine the riverbed – a sad meander of dry cobbles bleached white, punctuated by stagnant pools full of belly-up trout. This place, with its rugged remoteness, wild rapids and world-class trout fishing, has carved its way into my soul. I mourn for future generations who will probably know a much different river. I also feel bad for the salty guides, who will be out both trips and tips. I grieve, too, for the bugs that fattened the fish that paid my bills, for the mergansers, ring-tail cats and desert bighorn sheep who call this area home. All need a river that’s wet. Jacob Richards is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is a writer about Western environmental issues and sometime outdoor guide. He lives in Fruita. ■
Aug. 27, 2026 n 5
SoapBox Trump’s Iran debacle An unfortunate aspect of the controversy surrounding the USS Lincoln and its support group is that the splendid and vital contributions made during its war posting and its operations are not receiving just, accurate and full coverage. The USS Lincoln group provided extensive service in the war effort. It provided military success that must not be overlooked. Much was asked of the group’s leaders and personnel, and much was given! It would be tragic to fail to recognize and to honor those accomplishments. The USS Lincoln’s personnel should be welcomed back with a fully deserved hero’s celebration. Instead, there is a host of news reports across all media about morale, food, etc., because of Trump and Hegseth failures. War is deadly. War is expensive. War is not predictable. War creates unanticipated consequences. War is diplomacy failed. War should never be a “first option.” War requires competent, creative and knowledgeable leadership. What Donald Trump knows best about war is how to “dodge the draft,” how to “pass the buck” and how to enrich (mightily) himself, a favored few and the military/industrial complex. Trump was not and is not a proper war leader. Pete Hegseth was not and is not qualified to be either Secretary of War or Secretary of Defense. The Iran war
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D-Toon/by Rob Pudim has gone as well as it has because of duty above and beyond by the splendid members of our military forces. Any failures reside primarily with Trump, Hegseth and their staffs. The war with Iran was a war of choice, which means it is a war that never needed to happen. There was nothing about the situation between the United States, Israel and Iran that “demanded” the attacks. Nothing! Please accept and remember that fact. There was great (manufactured?) confusion at the start of war regarding: why it was started; what the objectives were; and what the end game would be. First, it was stated that Iran was about to launch its own attack on Israeli and/or U.S. bases, so preemptive strikes were needed. Or, it was launched to prevent Iran from building a bomb. Or, it was launched to keep Iran from enriching its uranium stockpile. As time went on, other reasons were circulated. Regime change was mentioned at times. No evidence for any of the reasons was ever supplied. My best guess is that it was assumed that the people of Iran would rise up, and that regime change would happen. Any chance of that was savagely removed when uncounted thousands were slaughtered by the Iran regime itself during the public rallies that happened in January 2026. The war of choice with Iran has been a stalemate for some time. There is no clear end-of-war strategy on either side. It does take both sides to end a war. Trump’s efforts to end it unilaterally have utterly and
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completely failed. There is no evidence that Iran’s leadership is in any hurry to end the war. The stalemate seems to suit that leadership fine. Some have speculated that Iran wants to wait to see what the U.S. 2026 election results are before entertaining ideas about ending the war.
Up to now, I have not mentioned the Strait of Hormuz and the issues surrounding that key waterway. In part, that is because a full discussion of those issues would extend the length of this letter beyond calculation. Before the attacks on Iran that signaled the beginning of the conflict, the strait was open to all shipping. Now, the strait has been totally – or mostly – closed for most of the time since hostilities began. The closures have had dramatic and extensive consequences across the world’s economies because an important part of the world’s oil and other consumer goods are shipped through the strait. With each passing day, world economies suffer. – Hal Mansfield, Green Valley, Ariz.
Building technological guardrails, trust Technology is changing everywhere. The question is not whether police should use it, but how we ensure it serves public safety without unnecessarily compromising privacy, constitutional protections or public trust. Automated license plate readers, also called ALPRs, are a good example.
These cameras legally capture license plates and basic vehicle information on public roadways, where courts have generally found no reasonable expectation of privacy. This information can quickly help locate stolen vehicles, identify vehicles linked to serious crimes, and find missing or endangered people. But acknowledging this technology's value should not require dismissing legitimate privacy concerns. A license plate must be publicly displayed, and an officer standing along a roadway can lawfully observe it. An ALPR simply automates that observation. The conversation changes when multiple cameras combine observations to reconstruct a vehicle’s movements over time. Scale, retention and access matter. The most important question isn't simply "Can police use this technology?" The Constitution tells us what government may do; responsible leadership also asks what government should do. That requires five questions: Can we? May we? Under what circumstances will we? Should we? And will our community trust us to do so responsibly? The Constitution is the floor, not the goal. Good government aims higher by building safeguards that protect both public safety and public trust.
Those safeguards should include limited data retention, clearly defined authorized uses, documented reasons for searches, audit trails, supervisory review and meaningful consequences for misuse. Agreements should clearly define how other agencies share, access and use data. Government should not outsource accountability or public policy to technology companies. Police must retain control over their data and understand where it is stored, how it is protected, who can access it and when it is deleted. Another equally important safeguard is human judgment. An ALPR alert is an investigative lead, a breadcrumb. Technology does not take an oath, establish probable cause or make an arrest. Officers must establish a legal basis for enforcement. And investigations do not end with police; cases move through an independent judicial system where warrants, evidence, arrests and police conduct are subject to review. Technology does not bypass that. If we believe this technology works, we should have the numbers to prove it: recoveries, solved crimes, located people, investigative time saved, false alerts, complaints and policy violations. Perhaps police leaders should not tell citizens, "If you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about."
Privacy is a fundamental value in a free society. People have legitimate privacy interests in their relationships, communications, associations and movements. The courts have found that the convenience of modern technology does not mean knowingly surrendering those rights. We must protect both privacy and public safety. Technology often advances faster than legislation, but that gap is not a legal or ethical vacuum. Decades of constitutional decisions offer a roadmap. Responsible policing should anticipate those boundaries rather than wait for courts to impose them. At the same time, police have an obligation to protect victims by using tools responsibly within the law, not abandoning them because of public pressure, false narratives, political convenience or job security. Public trust cannot be built by simply asking our community to trust us with powerful technology. Trust is earned when we are transparent about what we do, accountable for how we do it and willing to impose meaningful limits on ourselves. That is how technology should serve policing, and how policing should continue serving a free community. – Brice Current, Chief of Police, Durango Police Department
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Aug. 27, 2026 n 7
LocalNews
Newly built homes at the Residences of Durango. The 120-unit complex, with one- to three-bedroom units for people making 30% and 60% of the area median income, rented out quickly, leaving some hopefuls out in the cold. A 2025 housing needs study by the City of Durango found that the city needs 200 new units every year for the next 10 years to keep up with workforce demand./ Telegraph photo
Getting in the door While the city pursues a range of housing strategies, one man is building his own safety net by Missy Votel
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he face of Durango's unhoused may not be what you think. Wearing khakis, a crisp blue t-shirt, straw fedora and stylish eyeglasses, Benjamin Butler is well-spoken and holds down a regular job at Office Depot. He looks like any other 40-something Durangoan. Except he also lives in his car. A native of Chicago, Butler, 43, moved from Colorado Springs to Durango about four years ago. He found that $17.50 an hour was not enough to make rent on even a small studio in Durango, and so his latemodel Jeep became his home on wheels. He has everything he needs to live somewhat comfortably, even in the winter cold, which he says he doesn’t mind so much. But make no mistake – his living situation is not a choice so much as a necessity. He would much rather do without the regular visits from the police or having his car broken into and all his worldly possessions stolen
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(This is his second Jeep – his first one was stolen in Colorado Springs.) “I just want a real room, with a door that locks,” he said recently during an interview at Durango Joe’s. Butler said he has tried going through all the proper channels to secure low-income housing, but keeps falling short. Either he doesn't qualify, for example the housing is only open to veterans or people with disabilities. Or it involves a lengthy application process, a credit check or large deposit. And when new low-income units come up, they are gobbled up as soon as they become available. This was the case with the July 2025 opening of the Residences at Durango on HWY 160, a renovated Best Western that offered only about 10 units at the lowest rental rate that he could afford. “I've gone through every aspect I can to try to get an apartment, try to get housing help, vouchers, anything that is offered,” said Butler, who said he doesn’t have a criminal record and is sober. “I've gone through to the end of it. And I get zero help.”
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He said missing out on the few lowest-income units at the Residences was especially discouraging. “That was supposed to be, like, a saving grace. And that kind of fell through – it fell through for a lot of people. We were told, ‘Get ready,’ it was a big hope, and then it was a crushing letdown when they were like, ‘No, you can't get it,’” he said. That's when Butler, who has a background in business and web design, decided to think outside the housing box. Earlier this summer, he started his own nonprofit, Holding Ground, with the aim of helping people just like himself from slipping through the cracks. People who don’t fit into a specific category, who are contributing members of the community who have fallen on hard times and need help quickly finding a place to live – minus the red tape and hoops-jumping. “There’s a significant amount of people who are living in their vehicles and bouncing around. They get an apartment, and then they can't afford it. They get in for three months, and then they're back out for a few
months,” said Butler. “And there's not a lot of help. So I was like, you know what? No one's gonna help me. In order to help me, I have to help other people. I need to try to change the system, because the system seems broken.” Butler said the premise is simple: work with local property owners to find 10 or so dedicated units to rent to start. People move in and live rent-free for the first six weeks and then rent would gradually increase from $400 to say, $800 in subsequent six-week increments. The goal would be to never have rents go over what people can afford at their wage. Right now, that’s about $800/month in rent for someone earning the Colorado minimum wage of $15.16/hour (following the standard financial guideline that someone should spend no more than 30% of their gross income on housing.) By contrast, according to apartment.com, the average studio apartment in Durango rents for close to $1,200/month. For minimum wage earners, this is about half of their monthly income, leaving little left for food, health care and other necessities, let alone fun. “You got somebody that just may fall on a hard time, but the safety net is not great. And there can actually be no safety net. Then bad things can happen,” said Butler. “You want to catch somebody before they start really suffering and go deeper.” Butler, who has completed his 501(c)3 filing with the state and is working on his federal filings, said the hope is to eventually go after grants to help offset the cost of the rentals. He also envisions local businesses donating as a way to retain their workforce. He said he recently talked to an owner of a popular downtown restaurant who lost a valued worker who was commuting from Farmington every day when their car died. “Their car breaks down, and they have to quit. And (the employer) loses a good employee, because a person can't afford to live here. The drive is killing the car,” he said. “So you’ve got small businesses that are kind of staples in this town losing employees, because they can't get housing.” As Butler sees it, small businesses are already paying for the lack of affordable housing via advertising for job postings, managers’ hours, the training curve and degraded service. “I'm trying to build something where it's low barrier; neighbors are helping neighbors. Essentially a way for people to work themselves up and introduce some (housing) supply that's a little bit less expensive,” he said. “Because if you're just a normal person making the average wage out here in the service industry, it's really hard, and I think everybody knows it.” The affordable toolbox Of course, the affordable housing and livable wages disparity is not new or unique in Durango – or elsewhere in the state, particularly in resort and mountain communities. However, the City of Durango’s approach to affordable housing has become more ambitious – and complex – in recent years. The city is using a mix of policy tools and approaches to create homes across a broad range of incomes, while trying to keep pace with the increasing housing shortage, according to Brian Devine, the City’s housing planning and policy administrator. A City Housing Needs Assessment, mandated by state law and completed in 2025, found that more than 200 new homes a year are needed
Benjamin Butler, founder of Holding Ground, a nonprofit to help working people find quick, affordable housing, stands along the Animas River, across from Rivergate. The city recently bought land across from the existing development where it plans to build 71 workforce housing units. over the next 10 years just to keep pace with job growth. And the needs span a wide range of income levels, making it difficult to solve the problem with any single type of housing or policy. Devine said the starting point in understanding the issue is something called AMI, or area median income. In Colorado, it is calculated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Colorado Housing Finance Authority. The current AMI for Durango ranges from $82,300 for a one-person household to $117,500 for a four-person household. “That's a way for us to sort of standardize things across household size and different types of projects,” said Devine. In recent years, he said the city has moved more toward housing policies that incorporate mixed incomes, rather than just serving one income level. For example, the 120-unit Residences of Durango project includes about 10 units for earners making 30% AMI (people earning $24,690 a year or less) with the rest of the units for people making 60% AMI (people earning $49,380 or less). Using those metrics, studio units for one person rent for $617 and $1,234, respectively. A three-bedroom at the Residences for up to four people rents for $916 for the 30% AMI group and $1,839 for those in the 60% bracket. “Those 60% AMI homes and 30% AMI homes are very much needed,” said Devine. “So every project will fill a different niche. That doesn't mean that for any particular person, something might or might not be afford-
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able to them in their circumstances. But it's about filling those needs, up and down the income scale.” However, even Devine noted that the Residences project filled up faster than anyone expected, emphasizing how big the need in Durango really is. In response to these rising needs, the city has tweaked its affordable housing approach, particularly with its Fair Share Inclusionary Housing policy. In existence since 2009, it requires developers to either include affordable units in their projects or pay fees in lieu to the City, which in turn uses the money to create affordable housing on its own. Historically, developers generally chose to pay the fees. From 2009-23, those fees generated more than $2.7 million for housing projects, but resulted in just one mixed-income development. So, in 2024, the City changed the policy to strongly encourage developers to incorporate income-restricted homes into projects from the beginning. Developers can still pay fees in lieu, as is allowed under state law, or propose another solution that provides an equivalent benefit to the city. “The model is shifting now to try to get developers to build mixed-income projects right from the get-go. Because it does take time for us to turn those fees into new homes,” said Devine. “And of course, we like mixed-income neighborhoods and mixed-income communities. It’s still needed to have projects that deliver a lot of affordable units at once, but the preference is to have mixed-income projects that serve different types of people with the same amenities and shared infrastructure.” Devine noted that smaller projects, typically of eight units or less, are exempt from fair share regulations. However, if a project is not exempt, developers must come up with some kind of proposal before securing a building permit. “It does allow for creative approaches. We recognize that every project and every site are a little bit different,” said Devine. In addition, income-restricted units must be representative of the project as a whole. So if there's a mix of, say, two- and three-bedroom units in a project, the developer must have the same proportion of two- and three-bedroom units in its fair share program. The city is also using its own land and resources to pursue larger public-private housing projects including the Lightner Creek Commons at Twin Buttes (29 units); the Rivergate project (71 units); and Durango Crossings on Florida Road (149 units). The first two are expected to break ground next year, with the third soon behind. Another new tool being used by the City is a “Fast Track Review,” which took effect June 30. The policy gives certain affordable housing projects an accelerated review process without changing public hearing or public comment requirements. Initially, projects must have at least 50% of their homes affordable to households earning up to 100% of AMI for ownership or 60% of AMI for rentals. State funding is another important piece. Last week, the city announced it hit its requirement for the next three-year cycle of Proposition 123 funding. Approved by state voters in 2022, Prop 123 creates a dedicated state funding stream for affordable housing and homelessness-prevention programs as long as communities meet certain affordable building thresholds. Durango recently completed its commitment, producing 184 units in the last three years.
Wait! There’s more
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Aug. 27, 2026 n 9
Affordable from p. 9 Devine said the city does not manage every affordable housing project directly. Larger developments, such as the Residences – funded through federal programs like the low-income housing tax credits – have their own developers and property managers. Compliance is overseen by agencies such as the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, and developments risk losing their tax credits if found in violation. For city-involved projects, the city works with the Homes Fund to manage sales and resales, while Housing Solutions of the Southwest handles tenant screening and income verification for mixed-income rental projects. Devine said the next phase in Durango’s affordable housing journey is turning the Housing Needs Assessment into a formal Housing Action Plan. The City plans to work with residents, businesses and housing experts to establish specific goals and track progress. The plan is expected to accompany the 2027 update of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. In addition, in late June, the City launched its “Housing Affordability Initiatives” engagement page (engage.durangoco.gov/housing-affordability-initiat ives). The goal is to update residents on the latest housing efforts as well as allow people to ask questions, leave suggestions and shape the future of housing in Durango. “We recognize that people's faith in our ability to deliver on the housing crisis is also related to how well they understand what we're doing and how those pieces fit together,” said Devine. “So we are continuing to work on our website and on the Engage Durango platform. We've tried to put a lot more data up, and we're working on getting more visuals up there as well.” The City acknowledges that the hous-
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A rendering of the mixed-use development at The Crossings on Florida Road. The development is proposed for around 149 residential units, including workforce townhomes, condos and apartments targeting households at 70% to 125% of the AMI./City of Durango ing crisis is bigger than any one program. The goal is to use all the available tools – tax credits, mixed-income projects, Fair Share zoning, public-private partnerships and smaller-scale housing – to create a community with housing options for people across the income spectrum. The challenge now is turning years of policy work into homes that residents can actually afford to live in. “We'll be seeing real development on the ground and not just numbers on a page very soon,” said Devine. “It's pretty ambitious to have a lot of projects getting built simultaneously around the city, but that's where we're headed. We've done a lot of work to get to this point. And now
it's going to translate into these vertical construction projects.” Looking for champions Meanwhile, Butler, with Holding Ground, is working on getting his dreams off the ground as well. Right now, he is looking for potential board members and some funding – about $3,000 – to pay filing fees with the IRS. “Right now, I'm just trying to get information out. I'm looking for, I guess what I would call ‘champions.’ I need a couple people to help get it off the runway,” he said. Long-term, he envisions fund-raising and grants that would enable the nonprofit to build or buy a small apartment
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complex for low-income working folks, just like him, where they can find housing quickly and work their way back up the ladder. “If you need a place to stay, if you have a job, if you're someone who is part of the community or wants to be part of the community, here's a place where you can live – and your own door, that locks,” he said. “When someone has a safe place like that – and they can make rent and are not struggling and stressing – they can participate in the community. We want people to be able to do the murals and make art, go to the Garage and have fun and meet people, go bike riding. We want people to live.” ■
BetweentheBeats
Still rocking Local music icon Erik Nordstrom reflects on 25 years of music and community in SWCO by Stephen Sellers
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reetings, dear readers! For this week’s “Between the Beats,” I sat down with local god Erik Nordstrom. Erik was one of the first musicians I saw after moving to Durango. It was summer 2007 at the now-defunct Summit, and I was fresh out of West Texas. Hearing Nordstrom’s collision of country, punk and rock ’n’ roll was reassuring: “Oh shit, I think I’m going to be OK out here in this sea of whiteboy funk.” Trying to capture his résumé would sink my word count, but highlights include: helping create Cover Night, which has become a KDUR institution; playing in the Lawn Chair Kings for more than 25 years; cofronting the more rock-centric band Farmington Hill with fellow music legend Bubba Iudice; surviving cancer; creating Nordfest; and ushering in Mixed in Mancos. Enjoy a brief slice of our conversation, and as always, see you on the dance floor! SS: Erik, when did you move to Durango? EN: I moved to Durango in 1999 for work, teaching at Durango High School after moving here from Flagstaff. SS: What did the music scene look like then? EN: It was good. I started doing open mics at the Summit. I had been in bands in Flagstaff – alt-country, bluegrass, folk-rock and punk – and was looking for a way into the scene here. Storyville opened around that time and became this hotbed of community. When the Lawn Chair Kings formed, we started playing there, and the first Cover Nights Erik Nordstrom happened there, too. doing his thing SS: How did the Lawn Chair Kings come together? EN: I was putting up roommate-wanted flyers EN: Cover Nights started in 2001. Steve Stokes and I downtown and met Matt Joyce, who needed a place to live. He was from Austin, played drums, and we con- wanted bands from different genres to share a stage, so nected over Western swing, country and punk rock. we came up with a Neil Diamond night, because he felt Then we met Dan Leek through the Bandwagon Music genre-neutral, cheeky and fun. We called musicians store and knew he was the bass player we wanted. The around town and came up with the motto “Local Musibig themes were punk rock and country. I’ve always ap- cians Unite.” The first one was a blast, so we kept going preciated country’s melody and punk rock’s energy. with Prince, KISS, Madonna and others. SS: Bluegrass has also been a big part of your Punk also gave me a way to make social commentary musical life. with sarcasm and irony. EN: I’ve loved the camaraderie of bluegrass since the SS: Cover Nights have become a Durango inWalnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kan., in college. stitution. How did they start?
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Around 2001, I became a regular at the Four Corners Folk Festival in Pagosa Springs. Over the years, I developed a sense of family through that community. SS: Tell us about your newest project, Snowy Plovers. EN: My wife, Shanti, and I started Snowy Plovers after a trip to the Northwest coast where we came across a protected snowy plover habitat. This slightly ticked-off little sea bird inspired a raw, hardbitten, old-time Americana thing. Shanti plays mandolin, I play acoustic guitar, and Renee Feigenbaum eventually joined us on upright bass. We became a trio in 2025. SS: You moved to Mancos in 2017. How has that shaped things? EN: There’s a lot of creativity, and it’s a great place for artists and musicians. I started Mixed in Mancos, which brings three bands into the Mancos Opera House to play and record original music. We now have two vinyl releases out. SS: Tell us about the origins of Nordfest. EN: I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022. I went through surgery and eventually chemotherapy. I wanted to do a fundraiser, and the idea came up to have local musicians cover my songs. It gave me a more positive story than just, “I have cancer, and I’m getting chemo.” Seeing the community rally was incredibly meaningful. Since then, I’ve turned it into giving back. Nordfest now supports local cancer-support organizations. It’s five hours, five bands. SS: After more than 25 years making music here, what do you hope for the future of the scene? EN: There’s a lot of uncertainty: politics, war, drought, AI. My hope is that here in Southwest Colorado, we can continue to enjoy nature, the arts and music. Maybe those things won’t fix all our problems, but at least they can help keep us sane. If we have a community mindset, we all benefit. I think that’s what makes Southwest Colorado special. SS: What’s the one piece of advice you would give your 1999 self? EN: Don’t stress. It’s all gonna work out. SS: So, what’s up next? EN: The Lawn Chair Kings are hosting our summertime bash at Mancos Brewing this Sat., Aug. 29, and Nordfest is coming up shortly after, on Sept. 12. ■
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StufftoDo
Thursday27
8 a.m.-5 p.m., Purgatory Resort
Thursday Morning Cribbage, 8-10 a.m., Just the Drip Coffee Shop, 1600 Florida Rd.
San Juan Nature Hike, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Andrews Lake upper parking lot
Elmore’s Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 306 Florida Grange, 656 CR 172
Community Pet Remembrance Ceremony, 4-5 p.m., La Plata County Humane Society Care Cottage, 1111 S. Camino del Rio
Smelter Mountain Boys play, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Leah Orlikowski plays, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho, 975 Main Ave.
Agave plays Grateful Dead Week, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
San Juan Brewfest Day 1, 5-8 p.m., Buckley Park
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Big Swing Golf Tournament, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Dalton Ranch Golf Club, 589 CR 252 Durango Green Drinks, 5-7 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Submit items for “Stuff to Do” by Monday at noon at: www.durangotelegraph.com/send-us-your-stuff-to-do/
Afrobeatniks play Ska-B-Q, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Rooftop Live Music, 5-9:30 p.m., The Rooftop Lounge at River’s Edge, 1521 Main Ave.
Leah Orlikowski plays, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho, 975 Main Ave.
Andrew Schuhmann plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Barons Creek Vineyards Tasting Room, 901 Main Ave.
Spanish Conversation Hour, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Sunnyside Library, 75 CR 218
Adam Swanson plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Durango Poetry Open Mic, 5:30-8 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave., Ste. F
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Dart Tournament, 5:30-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
La La Bones plays, Fri., Aug. 28, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio
Adam Swanson plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Rob Webster plays Grateful Dead Week, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
Jeff Solon Jazz plays, 6 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Dustin Burley plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
San Juanderer plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
The Original Vypers play 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Dustin Burley plays Grateful Dead Week, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
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Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
SJMA Late Summer Birding, 8 a.m., Durango Nature Center, 63 CR 310
Thursday Night Rides, 6:30 p.m., Durango Harley-Davidson, 750 S. Camino Del Rio
Free Community Breakfast, 8-10 a.m., Marvel Grange, 217 CR 133A, Hesperus
Trivia Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio
Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 noon, TBK parking lot, 259 W 9th St.
Bluegrass Jam, 6:30-9 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice, 3000 Main Ave.
Mountain States Cup Downhill Series Finale, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Purgatory Resort
Latin Dance Night w/ Brent Lilley and DJ Pumami, 6:30-9 p.m., The Rooftop Lounge at River’s Edge, 1521 Main Ave.
Yard Sale for Gaza, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., north end of 1300 block, E. 3rd Ave.
Kirtan Chanting with GaiaShakti, 7-8:30 p.m., Pause Yoga Studio, 1970 E 3rd Ave., Suite 111
Exploring Collage, 1 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. San Juan Brewfest Day 2, 1-5 pm, Buckley Park
Friday28 Veterans Friday Morning Coffee, 8-10:30 a.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave. Mountain States Cup Downhill Series Finale,
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Adam Swanson plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Nina Sasaki & Dan Carlson play, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
“City Slickers” Film Showing, 7-9:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Adult Disco Roller Skating, 8-10 p.m., Chapman Hill
Sunday30 Durango Flea Market, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds Mountain States Cup Downhill Series Finale, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Purgatory Resort Veterans Benefit Breakfast, 9-11 a.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave. Sunday Record Brunch Club, 12 noon-3 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. Sunday Irish Jams, 12:30-3 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave. Matt Lewis plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Blue Moon Ramblers play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Pete Giuliani plays, 5:30-7 p.m., The Clubhouse at Dalton Ranch, 589 CR 252
Monday31 “Our Childcare Journey: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow” childcare conversation, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, 11th St. Station back patio, 1101 Main Ave. Death Cafe, 4-5:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Tibetan Buddhist Practice Group, 4 p.m., Dreams of Tibet, 988 Main Ave.
Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30 pm, Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave., Ste. 109 or online www.durangodharmacenter.org
Lawn Chair Kings play, 4-7 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co., 484 Hwy 160 E. Frontage Rd.
Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
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AskRachel
Beers, bears and daddy issues Interesting fact: Bears are susceptible to diseases from expired food, which is even more reason we should lock our cans and airdrop them some fresh tourists instead. Dear Rachel, I’m writing to you from afar. I live somewhere else now. It’s like Durango is the one that got away. I recently found Mexican Logger in a liquor store and promptly bought them out. It now fills my garage almost as much as it fills my heart. But I had a horrible thought: what if people in Durango don’t drink it like they used to? Have you moved on to another summer beer of choice? Am I just a poser on a nostalgia kick? – Homesick and Afraid Dear Storage Facility, I’m not going to answer your question one way or another. The important thing is that you hold that image of Durango you love so much. You hold it close to your heart and never let it go. Too many things change, one building at a time, one character at a time. Cherish it. Nurture it. Get drunk with it. And never come back, please. We already can’t afford the rents. We don’t need more competition. – Cheers, Rachel Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Jazz Church, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Tuesday01 Clinic Defense at Planned Parenthood, 1 p.m., Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, 46 Suttle St. CreativiTEA, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Sunnyside Library, 75 CR 218 Durango Real Estate Meetup, 5:30 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Man2Man Prostate Cancer Support Group meets via Zoom, 7-8 p.m. prostategroupdurango@gmail.com Twin Buttes Tuesday weekly group mountain bike ride, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Twin Buttes Trailhead Jason Thies plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Book Club: “Go as a River,” by Shelley Reed, 6-7 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. Tuesday Trivia, 6-8:30 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Dear Rachel, I’m trying to have a relationship with my dad. He makes it near impossible. He literally refers me to his “scheduling assistant” when I want to have lunch with him. Try asking a glorified intern if your dad can make time for you. Any creative ideas for how I can reach him directly – heart to heart? – Don’t Call Me Daughter Dear Arm’s Length, When I want to talk to a real human, I keep pressing zero. Have you tried that with the scheduling assistant? Maybe show up at your dad’s place of business and tell the front desk (loudly) that you need to speak to him about the baby. That usually gets a response. No matter what, this sucks and I’m sorry. You deserve parental time without a time block. – Kids aren’t clients, Rachel Dear Rachel, I keep hearing how the March heatwave and late April freeze killed all the bears’ natural food sources and they are starving trying to find anything to sustain them for hibernation. Just the other night I saw a bear who looked disturbingly skinny. I know feeding bears is frowned upon, but what if we just air-dropped Randy Crumbaugh plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Wednesday02 Twin Buttes Farm Stand, 3-6:30 p.m., 165 Tipple Ave. Word Honey Free Poetry Workshop, 6-7:30 p.m., The Hive, 1175 Camino Del Rio Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Devin Scott plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Deadly Fun Learning: Mysteries that Champion Our National Parks with Scott Graham, 6:30-8 p.m., FLC Center of Southwest Studies, Lyceum Room 120 Blazin Boots Line Dancing Class & Free Open Dancing, 6:30-9 p.m., The Rooftop Lounge at River’s Edge, 1521 Main Ave.
Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com food in the wilderness, where it wouldn’t be associated with humans? They do this in bad years for deer and elk, why not bears? It’s not their fault we effed up the world for them. – Bear Hugger Dear Ursine Squeezer, I can’t even joke. This is the best idea I’ve ever heard. Bears like easy food; let’s give it to them. We have to have some unfit-for-human-consumption grocery store remnants we could assemble. And if we want to get some of the people out of town, too, let’s drop some canned beer out there instead of shipping it out of state. Yet another way to feed the bears. – Juuuuust right, Rachel thru Oct. 10, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. “The Moments That Made US” exhibit, thru Sept. 30, Animas Museum, 3065 W. 2nd Ave.
Upcoming Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, Thurs., Sept. 3, 9 a.m., Durango Harley-Davidson, 750 S. Camino Del Rio Author Event: Kimberly Nath “The Loyalist Experience and the Aftermath in Revolutionary Philadelphia,” Thurs., Sept. 3, 6-8 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. Improv or DIE! Improv Comedy, Thurs., Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m., Black Heron Lounge, 736 Main Ave. Spanish Conversation Hour, Thurs., Sept. 3, 5:306:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E 3rd Ave. The ArtRoom’s 5th Birthday Bash & First Friday, Fri., Sept. 4, 4-7 p.m., Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. Student Art Showcase, Fri., Sept. 4, 6-8 p.m., Light Box at Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave., Ste. C
Ongoing Dementia/Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group, 1st, 3rd & 5th Wednesday of each month, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Nature’s Tapestry in Plein Air Juried Exhibit,
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Jeff Solon plays, Fri., Sept. 4, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio Ragged Oak w/ Eli Emmitt Band plays, Fri., Sept. 4, 8-10 p.m., iAM Music Indigo Room, 1315 Main Ave. Aug. 27, 2026 n 13
FreeWillAstrology by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): On the sci-fi TV show “Stargate SG-1,” benevolent aliens known as the Asgard visit Earth to seek assistance from a secret U.S. government team. The ultra-advanced, hyper-intelligent Asgard have been unable to defeat their great nemesis, another alien species called the Replicators. Their hope is that their primitive partners, the humans, might stumble onto some basic, straightforward answer that their own sophisticated minds can’t see. The gamble pays off. One of Earth’s leading physicists devises a rough, unsophisticated strategy that works. Treat this as your parable: Put your faith in simple, uncluttered approaches, and don’t underestimate “beginner-level” fixes. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): During one of my visits to the annual Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, I encountered a prankster named Mother Very Superior. This nonbinary performer was dressed like a nun and wore a prominent chastity belt. Wielding a toy whip, they gently lashed me on my shoulders and prayed over me, saying, “I absolve you of all your sins. Therefore, you are now free to commit a raucous slew of new sins.” I hope you get a similar dispensation. To be fully available for the rollicking delights you’re eligible for, it would be wise to reduce your karmic debt. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Archaeologists studying ancient Roman shipwrecks found that sailors deliberately made their vessels heavier by stowing rocks in the hull. This reduced the profitability of their voyages, since it reduced their cargo capacity. On the other hand, it meant they wouldn’t capsize during storms. An excellent trade-off! Let’s use this scenario as a metaphor for your life right now. You will benefit from adding more ballast. Seemingly burdensome elements could keep you steady if conditions become unruly. Consider this: Not everything heavy is holding you back. Some of it’s keeping you strong and stable. CANCER (June 21-July 22): During the Baroque era, Cancerian artist Artemisia Gentileschi painted powerful biblical and historical women who killed tyrants and delivered their people from violent domination. By channeling her creative passion into figures of righteous fury, she transformed her personal trauma into psychological power. I invite you to be inspired by Gentileschi as you reconfigure your own story in the coming weeks, Cancerian. Wouldn’t it be fun and potent to transform the way you imagine both the past and future plot threads of your destiny?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In traditional sourdough baking, a small portion of fermented dough called a starter is saved and refreshed regularly. Some bakeries maintain the same lineage for years. The starter is a living culture of wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria that feed on flour and water, producing acids and gases that leaven the dough and create bread with complex flavor, aroma and texture. Let’s use this as a metaphor for your life, Leo. What long-running resource can you use to help create situations that will empower you to thrive in interesting ways during the coming months? VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The coming months could be a legendary turning point you will celebrate in the future: a pivotal time when you finally outsmart an old adversary and untangle a knotted inheritance, clearing the way to pursue your true calling with undiluted devotion. Or, on the other hand, the days ahead could be another round in the long saga of “almost”: a decisive phase when you avoid a challenge that has been begging for your full brilliance, leaving your future without shining clues for how to further decode the ancient riddle. Which destiny will you accomplish, dear Virgo? Will you answer the call to adventure? Or ignore it until it fades away? LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Some of my most useful revelations arrive in the dark. Once, while hiking in a wooded canyon at dusk, I lost the trail and had to feel my way forward by the sound of the creek. In that blind descent, an insight about a personal riddle I’d been pondering for months appeared, as if it had been waiting in the shadows for me. As I followed the stream bank to safety, I celebrated by singing Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah.” The moral of the story is that some lessons can be best learned by going down: into the body, confusing feelings and rich compost of mysteries we may be hesitant to explore. In my professional opinion, your next pivotal breakthroughs are lurking in the fertile darkness rather than the brilliant heights. I hope you’re brave enough to descend. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 1912, Scorpio meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift. It’s the idea that Earth’s continents were once joined in a single supercontinent and have gradually drifted apart to their present positions over millions of years. Most scientists initially rejected his hypothesis because he couldn’t explain how the movement occurred. He didn’t live long enough to receive vindication, but decades later, his novel hypothesis was fully accepted. I’m pleased to report that your wait
will be far shorter. Please keep your faith in the novel ideas and perceptions that others don’t understand yet. The world’s almost ready for your innovations. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): There is a kind of lightning called a “sprite.” It’s a ghostly red discharge that blossoms high above thunderstorms. I suspect you may soon experience your own personal versions of this wonder. Fleeting insights may appear in unexpected places. Emotionally rich revelations could arrive out of nowhere. Because the moments could pass quickly, it will be crucial to notice them when they arrive. They could stimulate major shifts in your understanding. Keep your perceptive powers highly attuned. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Fertility clinics store frozen human embryos. Numbering in the hundreds of thousands, they are suspended in a long, chilly pause, awaiting instructions from the people who created them. This accumulation of potential life on hold makes me think of you. If you would thaw and reclaim the neglected, untouched regions of your own imagination, you would become an even more formidable generator of focused creative power. The encouraging news is that the coming weeks will be an unusually favorable phase to expedite this process. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Some earthquakes unleash energy in violent bursts, but others are incremental commotions that unfold gradually over days or even weeks. The way they reorganize the Earth’s crust is kinder and gentler. Let’s regard these slow quakes as an apt metaphor for the initially disruptive but ultimately constructive transformations underway in your beautiful life. You may not see spectacular evidence that change is percolating, but I guarantee that it is. Old structures are in a transitional phase of subtle disarray, creating conditions for new dispensations you can’t imagine yet. My prediction: The rearrangement of your landscape will be healing. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The Sargasso Sea is the only sea on Earth without a land boundary. It’s defined entirely by four strong Atlantic Ocean currents that circle it. Its edges aren’t solid walls but slowly shifting rivers of water. I think this anomalous body of water is always a vivid symbol of your world, Pisces, and even more so these days. Your boundaries are currents, not coastlines. You hold your shape through movement, not through rigid definition. This is more challenging to maintain than solid borders, but it’s also a great potential strength. Use it with aplomb!
Back to schoo ool! Good selection of clothing as well as dorm/apartment decor, including lamps, linens and small furnishings Buy • Sell • Trade • Consign ~ Home Furnishings ~ Clothing ~ Accessories ~ Jewelry Closed July 4 • Open Tues. - Sat., 12 noon - 5 pm • 572 E. 6th Ave. • 970-385-7336
14 n Aug. 27, 2026
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Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon. Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $10 minimum. Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check. (Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)
Ads can be submitted by emailing: classifieds@ durangotelegraph.com
The number of submissions is capped at 200. Visit durangoplayfest.org/submit-aplay for guidelines and information.
Announcements Adult Roller Skating Check out the Chapman Hill Rink schedule. We have added adult skating on Tuesday nights 6:30-8:30pm and DJ parties one Saturday night each month. Durango Rollerskaters will be there to help you get rolling! Todd 970-799-0139
Electric Repair Roof, gutter cleaning, fence, floors,. walls, flood damage, mold, heating service
Dog Fosters Needed Parker’s Animas Rescue urgently needs fosters to provide temporary homes for rescued dogs. We supply all necessary items, including crates, food, leashes, toys and behavioral support, and cover veterinary visits. You provide the love and guidance. parkersanimalrescue.com. Men's Cancer Networking Group SWCO Men’s Cancer Advocacy group
BodyWork
HaikuMovieReview ‘Roommates’ With college back in session here’s a PSA: boobytrap your bed – Lainie Maxson to inspire men to stay connected and avoid isolation during their cancer journey. Open to all Cancer Warriors and caregivers. hope@cancersupportswco.org
Massage by Meg Bush 30, 60 & 90 min Meg Bush, LMT 970759-0199
Wanted Books Wanted at White Rabbit Donate/Trade/Sell 970 259-2213
ForSale Reruns Home Furnishings Time to refresh your indoor and outdoor space. Rolling wooden bar, nightstands, mirrors, lamps, cool artwork and lots more! Also looking to consign smaller furniture pieces. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.
Classes/Workshops Outdoor Batik Art Class 2 days 3 hours each day. 8/22-8/23, 9noon. Contact Peg Kimple at pegkimple@gmail.com.
Services Values Based Budgeting Personal finances, small business owners, goal support, customized to you. Alyse 910 515 9486
Boiler Service - Water Heater Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917
CommunityService Man2Man Prostate Cancer Support Group of Durango meets 7-8 p.m., Tues., Sept. 1, via Zoom. The group consists of survivors of prostate cancer and men who have been diagnosed with prostate issues including BPH and cancer. Participants discuss experiences with resources, diagnosis and treatments. Anyone is welcome. For more information and a Zoom invitation, email prostategroupdurango@gmail.com Durango PlayFest Seeks Submissions Durango PlayFest, a week-long play development festival, is accepting play submissions through Oct. 1 for its 9th annual festival in June 2027. Established and up-and-coming playwrights are encouraged to submit works to be considered for the festival, which takes place June 22-27, 2027. Selected playwrights will workshop their new plays with professional directors and actors before presenting staged readings to live audiences.
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