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FREE Sept. 3, 2026 Vol. XXV, No. 34 durangotelegraph.com
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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
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B E Y O N D
Critical condition
Cool your jet stream
Full Send-tember
Loss of habitat protections may wipe out sage-grouse p5
Will El Niño deliver? Experts say maybe, maybe not p9
From Dolores to Pagosa, an overflowing musical crop p10
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lineup
4 La Vida Local
Critical condition Rollback of habitat protections could spell end of Gunnison sage-grouse by Ted Williams / Writers on the Range
4 Thumbin’ It 5 Writers on the Range
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6 Soapbox
Change in plans
7-8 Discussion Junction
Has the City Hall project strayed too far from its original vision? One project neighbor argues yes
9 State News 10 Between the Beats
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11 Murder Ink
Will it or won’t it?
12-13 Stuff to Do
by Shannon Mullane / Colorado Sun
13 Ask Rachel
Forecasters urge caution in getting overly excited about El Niño just yet
14 Free Will Astrology
10
15 Classifieds
Full send
On the cover The beginning stages of last week’s partial lunar eclipse casts a reddish shadow on the moon. / Photo by Alex Krebs
September brimming with a bushel of good music throughout Four Corners by Stephen Sellers
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EDITORIALISTA: MISSY VOTEL missy@durangotelegraph.com PIT CREW: JENNAYE DERGE jennaye@durangotelegraph.com STAR-STUDDED CAST: Zach Hively, Stephen Sellers, Jeffrey Mannix, Lainie Maxson, Jesse Anderson, Rob Brezsny & Clint Reid
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4 Sign of the Downfall
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Oomp-ahhh!
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RegularOccurrences
Bust out your dirndl and lederhosen – Oktoberfest is returning to downtown Durango after more than a decade absence. The latest iteration of the autumnal bacchanal takes place over two days, Sept. 26-27, at Buckley Park with the taps flowing from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. both days. The event will feature all the trappings of a typical Oktoberfest – cold beer, food on a stick and live music. But, there will also be a few not-so typical attractions you won’t find in Munich, including a mechanical bull (because this is Durango), dunk tank and something called chicken bingo, which we suppose you’ll have to experience to appreciate. “The event combines the gathering spirit of Oktoberfest with a distinctly Durango personality,” organizer Carol Clark said. In addition to owning the Union Social House, Clark was the mastermind behind one of Durango’s past Oktoberfest iterations. “Come spend the day downtown, listen to music, share food, raise a stein, play games and celebrate the beginning of fall,” she said. To help you work off the pretzel, bratwurst and beer, live music includes: • Sat., Sept. 26, 11 a.m. – 12 noon, Polka Geist - With roots in the dance halls of Cedarburg and Johnsonville, Wisc., “Polka Geist” brings the “spirit” of Oktoberfest to Durango. • Sept. 26, 12 noon – 1 p.m., Three Way Street – This local trio plays covers spanning seven decades of rock, pop and country with a high-energy show built for singing along. • Sat. Sept. 26, 1:30-3:15 p.m., Red Mountain Revival - A blues and rock band from Telluride/Ouray/Ridgway and Montrose that describes itself as delivering “polished songs with great energy … that bring back the golden era of live music.” • Sat. Sept. 26, 3:30-5:30, Mango Cakes – Hailing from Albuquerque, Mango Cakes’ music is described as “a delectable fusion of pop and soul with a sprinkle of funk.” Stay tuned for information on more bands as it becomes available or visit www.durangooktoberfest.com. Tickets are $10, with VIP options available – we assume beer and food tokens will be extra, although there was no information on the website as of press time. But imbibe knowing your money will go to a good cause, with proceeds benefiting the Durango Farmers Market. Sept. 3, 2026 n 3
LaVidaLocal Throwing down the towel It’s a tale as old as terrycloth. I was showering way too late one recent evening, because how is anyone supposed to make dinner and do dishes and maintain personal hygiene while also getting the recommended hours of sleep? It’s just not possible – not without a dedicated staff to do some of the sleeping for you. So there I am, managing to shower for maybe the second time this month. It’s soothing all my nerves. Now that I’m finally in the shower, I never want to get out. I will, because a water heater is a finite resource. But for only the second time this month, the tension is running off me just the same as my accumulated skin oils, and the steam is doing whatever transformation it does to sinuses so that I remember I’m capable of breathing. This is my time, and I’m taking it. When I shut off the water, no more reluctantly than my dog drops an old birds’ nest that has blown to the ground, I could lie down right there and go to sleep. I don’t, because a bathtub is hardly comfortable enough for bathing in, let alone bedding down in for the night. Also it will get really cold, especially if I don’t dry off first. But I could. The point is, I am relaxed enough and tired enough, and I better have remembered to put the clean sheets back on the bed or else I will be sleeping propped up against a wall. Which would still be more comfortable than sleeping in a bathtub. The sheets, however, are a concern for Future Zach. Present Zach simply gets to enjoy the residual steamy comfort and wrap himself in a fluffy slate-blue bath towel. It’s not every decade a man buys himself such plush luxury. People say that men don’t appreciate such things. We do. We appreciate big fluffy towels as much as any other human. We appreciate them thoroughly, until there is barely enough towel left to cut up for manly fluffy oil rags. Ah. But before I ensconce myself in fluff, I give the towel a shake and a snap. Shaking the towel is rote by now. It’s been enough years for me almost – almost – to
forget about what once crawled from my cotton happy place onto my shoulder. Did I scream? Absolutely yes. I was 15, and no one had taught me to shake hitchhikers and hunters from my towel. The spider that climbed out of it and directly onto my skin was fortunate I did not try to smash it with the toilet. I very well could have; the toilet was the largest thing at hand (not counting the spider itself), and I had adrenaline approaching that of mothers who have to lift Volkswagen Golfs off their “guest-use-only” towels. That was many, many years ago. So now that I am older, wiser and have my own guest-use-only towels, what did I do this time? Be proud of me. I did not scream. Not out loud. I have grown as a human being and overcome a very great deal of arachnophobia by sheer force of intellect and a fair bit of self-shaming. I know, cognitively speaking, that spindly little spiders like this one now stunned on the cooling porcelain at my feet are not interested in hurting me. I understand now, in fact, that they provide important housekeeping services that I otherwise could not afford and that I certainly have no time for – especially not on days I choose both to shower and to eat. We have an arrangement, the spiders and me. They are welcome to live here and keep my pests under control. In exchange, I do not suck them up the vacuum hose, so long as they stay where I cannot see them or touch them or sense them or imagine them. And – so long as they stay out of my towels. The pact thus betrayed, I still managed not to set fire to my bathtub, nor to use an unreasonable quantity of water and effort and drama to swish the treaty-breaking spider down the drain and out the house and across state lines. I simply went about finishing my bedtime ablutions like a regular adult, even though I was by this point not tired anymore and you can forget about relaxed. Maybe I’ll calm back down by the time the sheets come out of the dryer. You better believe I’ll shake them out real good, too. – Zach Hively
Thumbin’It
SignoftheDownfall:
Cale Makar is back in the Avalanche fold after signing a $163.2 million, eight-year extension that kicks in next season, making him the league’s highest-paid player. No pressure, Cale – you got this.
Just when you thought we couldn’t get any more embarrassed in the eyes of the world, Trump took his Sharpie and changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” If only Trump could Sharpie over his Iran war.
Outdoors gear juggernaut Patagonia has entered the fray opposing Trump’s reduction of Bear’s Ears National Monument, joining conservation and tribal groups in suing the man who’s never been out in nature aside from his golf course.
It’s been a crazy week in the natural disasters department, with deadly flash flooding in the Himalayas and the Grand Canyon. Maybe it’s just us, but sure seems like Mother Nature is pissed off.
Shiyazh Tastohyinya Pete, who played high school football in Shiprock, became the first member of the Navajo Nation to sign with the NFL after he joined the Dallas Cowboys. He was later released, but not before getting a standing ovation after the Cowboys' preseason win over the Arizona Cardinals.
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Colorado Springs Republican Rep. Jeff Crank recently passed his first bill, “condemning socialism in all its forms,” which ignorantly conflates democratic socialism with communism. Nevermind Trump’s ongoing bromance with Putin, who actually is a communist, or that Americans are paying through the nose for basic living expenses.
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Eleven Herbs & Prices KFC’s Colonel Sanders died 46 years ago, but they waited until last month to have his estate sale. The Menish Group held the silent auction at The Sanders Dinner House in Kentucky, and at $30K, the Colonel’s daily planner brought the top bid, but only because it contained a handwritten list of herbs and spices (that turned out to be a stuffing recipe). The item that caused the biggest stir was Sanders’ bowtie – not due to the $8K price tag, but because now everyone on the Internet knows that Sanders wore a clip-on. However, it really doesn’t matter because the Colonel wasn’t even a colonel, and he was widely rumored to be a perv with a bird fetish. Heck, he only started KFC because he wanted to see a chicken strip.
WritersontheRange
Something to grouse about Trump’s war on habitat protections could wipe out imperiled Colorado bird by Ted Williams
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ad Donald Trump been president in 1973, when Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into federal law, the Gunnison sagegrouse would be extinct. Close to 90% of all Gunnison sage-grouse remaining on the planet are in the Gunnison River Basin of west-central Colorado. The rest are in Utah. They’ve been extirpated from Arizona and New Mexico. The species is critically endangered in fact, if not by official decree. It is protected by the Act as just “threatened,” because the Interior Department lost a lawsuit brought by Gunnison County, the states of Utah and Colorado, and ranching, livestock and energy-development interests. Now, the plaintiffs don’t even have to fret about threatened status. The Trump administration has essentially done away with the Endangered Species Act itself. On July 14, the administration finalized a rule that legalizes the destruction of habitat that sustains all threatened and endangered life. It’s still a crime to kill or damage any listed individual plant, invertebrate, fish, reptile, amphibian, bird or mammal. But it’s perfectly OK to destroy all habitat formerly deemed necessary for a species’ survival, which will likely render said species extinct. “Common sense” is how Trump’s Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum defines this nonsensical approach. Wildlife advocates are outraged. “Taking habitat protections out of the ESA is like taking anti-discrimination provisions out of the Civil Rights Act,” Animal Wellness Action president Wayne Pacelle declares. “The law may still bear the same name, but its core provision and promise have been hollowed out.” Bart Melton of the National Parks Conservation Association writes that the
A critically endangered Gunnison sage-grouse. On July 14, the Trump administration removed habitat protections for threatened and endangered species, essentially gutting the Endangered Species Act. / BLM photo rule “defies common sense” and that “paves the way for mining, oil and gas drilling, logging, and development in areas that are crucial to the survival of some of our most vulnerable species.” Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles condemns the rule as violating “the core purpose of the statute and decades of legal precedent, including from the U.S. Supreme Court.” Meanwhile, multiple lawsuits to block the Trump administration’s “harm” rule are under way. For half a century, “harm” had been defined by law as not just human-caused death and damage to listed species but also as “significant modification or degradation” of their critical habitat. With that definition, the Act has saved 99% of listed organisms from extinction.
Gunnison sage-grouse remain on Earth, because an intact Endangered Species Act required the federal government to write recovery plans for listed organisms. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners didn’t have a choice. If they had done nothing, they’d have violated federal law. The main threats to Gunnison sagegrouse are invasive cheatgrass, wildfire, fragmentation of habitat by urban and suburban sprawl and prolonged drought caused by climate change. Close to half the remaining grouse habitat is in private hands, so voluntary protection and restoration of habitat by landowners has been paramount. Under the intact Act, most of this protection and restoration was implemented by “Safe Harbor” agreements covering al-
most 100,000 acres. Safe Harbor is a voluntary partnership between private landowners and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect and restore low-elevation wet meadows and sagebrush that are crucial for long-term Gunnison sage-grouse survival. In exchange, Safe Harbor signatories receive a guarantee that they won’t get hit with additional land-use restrictions or penalties under the Act, if their habitat improvements attract more Gunnison sagegrouse. When the Trump administration proposed its habitat harm rule April 15, 2025, almost 360,000 public comments were filed. While the administration declines to list the number or percentage of negative responses, an Earthjustice analysis reveals that about 99% of the comments were opposed. The Administrative Procedure Act requires federal agencies to consider public commentary and provide a rational, evidence-based explanation for their final rule. The Trump administration routinely ignores this directive. Without the Act’s mandate for recovery plans, there will be little motivation for landowners to honor Safe Harbor agreements or sign new ones. The Trump administration’s new, destructive Endangered Species Act is scheduled to take effect Sept. 14. Unless the environmental community succeeds with litigation to block it, Gunnison sage-grouse don’t stand a chance. And we won’t just lose the Gunnison sagegrouse. Hundreds of other listed organisms will slide into oblivion, and the most successful habitat protection and restoration law ever enacted will cease to exist. Ted Williams, a longtime environmental writer, is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. ■
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Sept. 3, 2026 n 5
SoapBox Rally ruins Durango vibe Labor Day is approaching, and for yours truly, it means figuring out where I’m going to flee for the weekend. And why am I leaving town? The Four Corners Bike Rally is staged at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, a stone’s throw from my condo on North Main. For starters, I have no problem with individual motorcyclists. But I do have a problem with thousands of them staging a loud, noise-polluting event at a taxpayer-funded facility in the heart of our town. And as this approaches, and I talk to my fellow neighbors, I know I’m not alone. This event has come to be despised by many Durangatangs, especially those who live near the Fairgrounds and those who have motorcyclists ripping through their neighborhoods with no disregard or respect for our sleepy town. The constant noise for days on end that I hear through the well-insulated walls of my condo makes it unable for me to focus and do my job at home. The roads are also full of many motorcyclists who are intoxicated and create a hazard for everyone else on the road. (Watch the number of bikers who get drunk downtown and then get right on their motorcycles afterward.) And when the inevitable accidents occur, this becomes a further strain on our first responders. Durango needs to stop rolling out a welcome mat for this event in the heart of our town. La Plata County needs to stop using our tax dollars to host this event at the Fairgrounds. The Four Corners Bike Rally would do all the residents of Durango a big favor by moving to a more remote location and allowing for Durango to be Durango on Labor Day Weekend. In the meantime, I’ll be spending my hard-earned money to fill up the tank in the truck and hit the road to another Colorado mountain town where the constant roar of motorcycles isn’t present. And I’ll be returning back home to Durango when this so-called “rally” has come to a close. – Cliff Cash, Durango
Hunters oppose Initiative 302 Colorado Hunters & Anglers for Sensible Wildlife Conservation, a hunter- and angler-led group committed to ethical harvest and science-based wildlife management, announces its opposition to the pro-
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D-Toon/by Rob Pudim posed Right to Hunt amendment to the Colorado Constitution (Initiative 302). The measure solves no demonstrated threat to hunting and fishing. Title 33, the legal code governing parks and wildlife in Colorado, states, “The state shall utilize hunting, trapping and fishing as the primary methods of effecting necessary wildlife harvests.” But the proposed Right to Hunt Constitutional Amendment likely would overturn existing bans on certain cruel and unethical types of hunting, ultimately turning the public against hunting and threatening its future in Colorado. The Right to Hunt Constitutional Amendment would explicitly protect “traditional methods” of hunting, which include: • The use of steel-jawed leghold traps, which Colorado voters banned in 1996. • Wildlife killing contests, which were legal in Colorado until they were banned in 2020. • Baiting bears with jelly donuts and other treats, which was banned by Colorado voters in 1992 by an overwhelming 70% of the vote. • Using hounds to hunt bears, a practice that was also banned by Colorado voters in 1992. • Hunting bears in the spring, a practice that Colorado voters banned in 1992, because the spring bear hunts cause young bear cubs to become orphaned and eventually starve to death. • Unlimited killing of beaver and other furbearers, which was finally limited by the CPW in July this year. Moreover, the Right to Hunt ballot measure also states that hunting and fishing are the “preferred methods” of managing fish and wildlife. This means that killing wildlife would be given preference over all other forms of wildlife management like: • Recovering overhunted species like beavers. • Making investments to increase the extent and quality of wildlife habitat, rather than killing wildlife, because there is not enough habitat. • Relocating wildlife. • Vaccines to prevent disease transmission. • Deploying non-lethal coexistence measures to prevent conflicts involving species like beavers and gray wolves, rather than simply killing the animals involved in the conflict. Colorado law requires wildlife to be managed for the use, benefit and enjoyment of all Coloradans. That
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includes hunters and anglers, as well as the vast majority of the public that chooses not to hunt or fish, but who are citizens and who vote. The future of hunting and fishing depends on maintaining the trust of the public. Turning wildlife-policy disagreements into constitutional legal fights to try to overturn sensible, publicly supported hunting policies will weaken that trust. Current Colorado campaign-finance records show that the committee supporting the Right to Hunt Amendment has reported $1 million in contributions and $800,000 in expenditures. The campaign’s own launch announcement said its initial $1 million commitment came from a Wisconsin-based group, T. Roosevelt Action. The Right to Hunt campaign has publicly projected that its broader effort could cost $10 million to $12 million. Like so many political campaigns in America these days, the proponents are trying to overwhelm common sense. Colorado Hunters & Anglers for Sensible Wildlife Conservation supports Colorado’s hunting and fishing traditions; ethical harvest of wildlife; robust, healthy wildlife populations; and professional, adaptable, science-based wildlife management. We oppose the Right to Hunt Constitutional Amendment, because we recognize that it will lead to endless litigation, overturn established rules for ethical hunting and ultimately undermine public support for the traditions we love. – Eric Washburn, president, Colorado Hunters and Anglers for Sensible Wildlife Conservation
DiscussionJunction
A change in plans Resident calls for pause to City Hall project; City defends changes as necessary, prudent Background: In April 2025, Durango voters approved extending the city’s one half of 1% sales tax through 2056. Half of the tax would go, as usual, to open space, parks and trails, with the other half being used “for the purpose of financing the restoration and equipping of the historic Durango High School building and adjacent facilities for use as a new city hall and new police facility.” Preliminary design plans in a February 2024 public meeting (available on the city’s Engage Durango site at bit.ly/4wHcXRw), proposed a myriad items, including: underground, secured police parking and public restrooms on the northwest corner of the parcel; multimodal improvements and/or connectors along the east alley and the west side of the parcel, between the Smiley Building and 12th Street; Buckley Park improvements; event and food truck space in the northwest parking lot; and renovating the former Big Picture High School into a police station on the east side of the property. Since then, the design vision has shifted. In a public meeting Jan. 21, 2026, an updated “design alternate concept” showed the underground police parking, public restrooms and surface parking on the northwest corner had been removed from the plan. Instead, the design now called for demolishing the former Big Picture building – which was first slated to be renovated for the police department – to make room for secured, lighted police parking along the eastern edge of the property. The latest plans also propose building a new police station on the back of the lot, abutting 13th Street. In addition, Buckley Park improvements are now taking place under a separate master-planning process overseen by the City Parks and Rec Department. A multimodal connection and improvements in the east alley as well as a pedestrian connection on the west side of the parcel remain on the latest plan, although the City said these will have their own planning, design, funding and construction processes. Smiley Building owner Charles Shaw submitted a letter to the editor last week, as the planned October demolition of the former Big Picture building looms, objecting to the new plans and calling for a “pause” to reassess the project. The City responded Aug. 25 with a news release explaining the reasoning behind the changes. Shaw’s letter appears first, followed by the City’s response. Also included are renderings of the first site plan, presented to voters in February 2024, as well as the latest proposal for the site, revealed in January this year.
Whoa there, partner! Back in April 2025, the City of Durango asked citizens to approve funding for a civic center that included a new police department and city hall to be built on the old Durango High School campus site. Voters approved this measure. The vision presented by the city included a project
Top: The latest plan for the City Hall/Police Department design, revealed at a Jan. 21, 2026, public meeting. Clockwise from above: February 2024 proposals, including underground parking, pedestrian and multimodal improvements, police department in the old Big Picture building, and event space. that would restore historic buildings, improve Buckley Park, create meaningful pedestrian connections through the property, and provide underground, secure parking for police vehicles. In addition, the existing police station and city hall were to be sold and developed as mixed use, supporting the vibrancy of a thriving downtown. That vision is not the project the city is now proposing to build. Construction is expected to begin this October, yet the public still has not been shown a finalized plan for
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But wait! There’s more
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Sept. 3, 2026 n 7
CityHall from p. 7 the site. Even the immediate neighbors have not been shown clearly how this massive project will relate to their properties, including the Smiley Building. Meanwhile, many of the amenities proposed by the City have quietly disappeared. The Buckley Park improvements and the adjacent alley upgrades have been removed from the scope of work. The underground police parking has been eliminated and replaced with secured, lighted surface parking surrounded by a fence. The meaningful pedestrian connections through the site appear to be gone. The existing police station and city hall, as well as other nearby lots, are being considered for surface employee parking. And perhaps most troubling, the city now proposes demolishing a roughly 30,000-square-foot, well-built building adjacent to the old high school that voters were originally told would be restored and used as part of the project. These are not minor design adjustments. Taken together, they fundamentally change the character of the project. The city originally described this project as a “civic center.” That term suggested something more than offices and a police station. It suggested a public place – a project integrated with Buckley Park, downtown, the surrounding neighborhood and the community. What is emerging looks increasingly like a municipal and police complex dominated by security infrastructure and surface parking. Projects change. Budgets change. Construction costs increase. I understand that. But when the changes become so substantial that the project hardly resembles what was first proposed, it’s time to stop and reassess. Before construction begins, the city should put the current project in front of the public in a clear and understandable way. Show us the final site plan. Show us the surface parking, fencing and lighting. Show us how this project will actually interface with neighboring properties. Show us the pedestrian connections. Show us what happened to the public amenities. And then give the voters an opportunity to decide whether this is still the project they agreed to fund. Unfortunately, City Council appears willing to allow the city manager and staff to push this project forward without addressing how far it has strayed from
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what voters were first shown. The city will point to its series of “Engage Durango” events as evidence of public involvement. I attended these events, and the last one barely had a dozen citizens present. These events were not genuine opportunities to engage. They were presentations intended to sugarcoat the changes the City had already made. I left feeling the opposite of “engaged.” Trust in government depends on citizens knowing that what appears on a ballot matches what happens after. When major elements of a voter-approved project change one by one, people understandably become cynical. On a national level, we see what happens when citizens lose faith that government is being straightforward. Durango should be working hard not to repeat that dynamic locally. There is still time to do this right … to do this better. Before breaking ground, City Council should require city staff to publicly present the project “as it actually exists today” and how it has changed from the first proposed plan. If this is still a good project, the city should have no reason to fear public scrutiny. And if the project has changed so dramatically that it can no longer withstand a public vote, perhaps that tells us something important. The voters approved one project. Before we spend more than $60 million building something substantially different, voters deserve to see what they are actually getting – and have a voice in whether they still want it. – Charles Shaw, owner, Smiley Building
Staying true to vision & budget (News release from the City of Durango, Aug. 25) The overall vision for the project has not changed. As the project has advanced, budget considerations have required adjustments to remain fiscally responsible and deliver on the commitment made to voters. We also committed to communicating significant changes, and we have continued to do so throughout the process. The project remains focused on several interconnected priorities: Historic High School: Restoring and rehabilitating the building at 201 E. 12th St. for City Hall.
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Police Department: Constructing a modern, purposebuilt facility with secured surface parking. Buckley Park: Improving the park through a separate but coordinated planning and design process. Connectivity and Alley Improvements: Creating pedestrian connections between the campus, Buckley Park, the surrounding neighborhood, and downtown, including improvements to the adjacent alley. Downtown Redevelopment: Selling the existing City Hall and Police Department properties to support redevelopment and continued downtown vibrancy. The underground parking structure was removed for budgetary reasons and replaced with secured surface parking for the Police Department. The parking area is currently planned with a six-foot security fence, reflecting community feedback. We also carefully evaluated whether to reuse the existing Community Development and Engineering building for the Police Department. Because the building at 215 E. 12th St. was designed as a school, it does not meet the structural, security, layout or operational requirements of a modern police facility, including Category 4 essential-facility requirements. A purpose-built facility provides the most functional and efficient long-term solution. The current Police Department has operated in what was intended to be a temporary location since 1982. This project will nearly triple its space and provide a modern facility capable of supporting current operations and future growth. Buckley Park and the pedestrian and alley improvements remain part of the overall vision but have their own planning, design, funding and construction processes, aligning with the City Hall and Police Department project completion timeline. Public pedestrian routes cannot pass through the secured Police Department area, so improvements to the adjacent alley will provide an important connection around the Campus. We are now in the final stages of design. Once designs and renderings are finalized, they will be shared with staff, City Council, and the community. Most importantly, the project remains on schedule and on budget. We remain committed to delivering a campus that supports our employees, improves connectivity and the campus area, respects the community’s investment, and serves Durango well for decades to come. Thank you again for reaching out and for the opportunity to clarify the project. For more information on the project, please visit our Engage page, which includes a comprehensive engagement list of outreach. ■
StateNews
Cool your jet stream Despite super El Niño hype, forecasters urge caution in getting overly optimistic just yet by Shannon Mullane / The Colorado Sun
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his year’s El Niño might be one of the strongest on record, but its impacts on Colorado’s weather – and the upcoming snow season – are still to be determined, experts say. This year, El Niño, is already strong and likely to keep growing. But because of Colorado’s inland location, and other factors, climatologists aren’t yet ready to promise relief from this summer’s punishing drought. “One thing I see that makes me a little nervous is that people get really excited that it’s going to be this big snow year,” Peter Goble, Colorado’s assistant state climatologist said. “I’m not saying it won’t … but we definitely don’t have enough information to say.” The El Niño and its sister La Niña are opposing climate patterns that start when water is warmer or cooler than usual stretching from the coast of South America to the central Pacific. In a normal year, water temperature is in the upper 70s, Goble said. If the region’s water temperature is warmer than usual, and stays that way for several months, scientists call it an El Niño. In a typical warm cycle, the water temperature is between 80-86 degrees Fahrenheit. Warmer ocean water leads to more evaporation and moisture in the at-
mosphere. And El Niño alters wind patterns to guide more intense, wet storms into parts of North America. Right now, some measurements are showing that water temperatures are more than 2 degrees warmer than usual, which is the marker of a “super,” or very strong, El Niño. “It’s still growing and quite rapidly,” Goble said. “Most models are predicting that it will be the strongest El Niño that we have measured.” But what happens in the Pacific Ocean doesn’t stay in the Pacific. The warm and cool cycles, also called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle, or ENSO, are one of the most important climate phenomena on Earth because they can change tropical wind patterns and shift the jet stream. Because ENSO cycles normally increase global temperatures, it’ll also likely be a warmer-than-average year, and conditions might not cool down easily. “Our global average temperatures are moving into yet new territory,” Goble said. The ENSO cycles are normally strongest from late fall to mid spring and peak in the winter. This year’s El Niño likely won’t peak for months, Goble said. What’s in store for Colorado? During El Niño, it tends to be wetter over much of Colorado, Goble said. El Niño can lead to slow-moving weather systems that drop rain or snow, but the
Storm clouds gather over the La Plata Mountains in this file photo. With the growing “super” El Niño, hopes are high for a big winter in Colorado, but forecasters say we won’t know for a few more months./Telegraph file photo effects vary by region. The Northern like a split jet stream and slow-moving, Rockies tend to be wetter in fall and low-pressure systems that originate spring, but drier in midwinter while farther south than usual. “Thus far, I haven’t seen a real clear Western Colorado falls in an in-between area. There’s a 50-50 chance it could be calling card of El Niño on Colorado’s wetter or drier than usual on the West weather,” Goble said. As for Durango, it was much drier Slope, Erin Walter, a hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Junc- than normal in August, according to the National Weather Service. tion, said. It’s a wait-and-see situation. Climate and weather experts don’t The month of August saw just 0.28 know whether the strength of an El Niño inches of rain, 0.12 inches of which ocmatters, Goble said. There isn’t enough curred Monday, which was the highest data to show a clear link. precipitation day of August. Experts have recorded super El Niños August averages closer to 1.3 inches of in 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16. Col- rain, according to the weather service. A orado saw more precipitation than usual number of reasons contributed to the dry in the fall during two of the three events, spell, accroding to the National Weather Goble said. Some years, like 1982, had a Service in Grand Junction, including dry, colder fall than others. Recent El Niños, hot air blocking what moisture did make like 2019, were good snow years, but that its way to the region from falling. doesn’t always happen. “It’s not as well This story was edited for length and to add correlated with peak seasonal snowpack information on local climate conditions. The as we’d like,” Goble said. Colorado Sun is a nonprofit, award-winning It’s also difficult to look at an individ- news outlet covering Colorado. Sign up for ual storm and say it was driven by El their newsletters, and follow them on Twitter, Niño. But there are some signs to look for, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky. ■
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Sept. 3, 2026 n 9
BetweentheBeats
A bumper crop September brings bluegrass, soul, reggae and house to SWCO by Stephen Sellers
G
reetings, dear readers! Welcome to harvest season! Yes, your gardens most likely didn’t make it without an AI data center’s worth of water this year, but thankfully, we have a rich harvest of music ahead. I’m not even going to cover Blues & Brews in Telluride on Sept. 19, but that’s going to be a rager. This is a nearly impossible month to choose favorites because each week is stacked. So, do yourself a favor and check out the KDUR concert calendar or a new favorite of mine, animassound.com, to keep up to date. As always, see you on the dance floor! • Ragged Oak and Eli Emmitt Band, Fri., Sept. 4, 7 p.m., iAM Music – This is somewhat of a mash-up of a pairing, but both artists are exquisite in their own lanes. Ragged Oak’s Josh Menderla is laser-focused on doing things the right way: great indie-rock tunes, killer merch and, most recently, taking on booking duties for the Powerhouse’s Community Concert series. Eli Emmitt needs little introduction around these parts. His neo-soul songwriting combines adventurous arrangements with that unmistakable Emmitt vocal range. • Mountain Town Shakedown with Liver Down the River, Foggy Memory Boys and Derek Dhames Ohl, Sat., Sept. 5, 4 p.m., Motel Soco, Pagosa Springs – This will be a Four Corners string-band summit disguised as an afternoon party, thanks to promoter and picker Paddy Storen. These three acts make for one hell of a regional roots bill, while Motel Soco continues finding reasons to get people east of Durango. It’s a big-time vibe out there. • Daniel Rodriguez, Sat., Sept. 5, 6 p.m., Dolores Bike Hostel - Dolores Bike Hostel is really making it happen out there. Month after month, they bring bookings that make you think, “How the hell did they get that person?!” Add former Elephant Revivalist Daniel Rodriguez to the mix. A show in Dolores at the cool-as-hell hostel is about as “local” as you can get. • The Sweet Lillies and People We Know, Sat., Sept. 5, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre - There’s been a notable decrease in bluegrass bookings
10 n Sept. 3, 2026
Daniel Rodriguez, formerly of Elephant Revival, plays the Dolores Bike Hostel on Sept. 5 around Durango over the years – a sign of the times. College folks just don’t wear the Carhartt overalls like they used to. Moustaches, thin gold chains, broccolihead haircuts and bass music have supplanted the Millennial mullets, Chacos, flannels and twang of yesteryear. That said, the bluegrass that does get booked is top-freaking-notch thanks to local promoter Eugene Salaz. Expect The Sweet Lillies to bring it, with local support from hometown homies People We Know. • Mountain Town Shakedown Part 2 with Liver Down the River, Foggy Memory Boys, Derek Dhames Ohl and Forest Thump, Sun., Sept. 6, 2:30 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co. - Didn’t get enough the night before in Pagosa? Good news: the Shakedown heads to Mancos for round two and adds bass-music/bluegrass hybrid Forest Thump. Hydrate and rally. • Nordfest with Snowy Plovers, Van Hagen, Hotel Draw, Moetones and Little Brother, Sat., Sept. 12, 2 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co. - As featured last week, Nordfest returns for its fourth edition. The premise is simple: gather a pile of regional bands, make an afternoon of it and support cancer-support organizations. Thank you, Erik! • The Boomroots with Mister Kali and MC Rasta Stevie, Thurs.,
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Sept. 24, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre - Sleeper reggae booking coming in as a midweek throwdown. I love seeing Rasta Stevie on the lineup, because nobody knows how to hype a crowd like Stevie in our community. The Boomroots come up from Santa Fe for an affordably priced dose of high-quality reggae. • Mark Farina with Ramona and Spark Madden, Fri., Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre - We have house-music royalty coming this month. Chicago legend and Mushroom Jazz architect Mark Farina lands at the ACT with support from Ramona and hometown stalwart Spark Madden. For dance-music heads, this is one of those bookings you usually expect to drive several hours to see. “We’re not worthy!” • Oktoberfest with Polka Geist, Red Mountain Revival and The Mango Cakes, Sat., Sept. 26, 11 a.m., Buckley Park - There’s a big ol’ Oktoberfest coming back to Durango! Shoutout to Carol Clark of Union Social House for getting it going. I don’t remember much about previous Oktoberfests. Hmmm. I wonder why? Regardless, this two-day party in Buckley Park should be a fine way to round out the last vestiges of summer before the leaves start falling. Prost, dear readers. ■
MurderInk
Keep on truckin’ ‘Freight’ finds suspense in the lonely lives, CB chatter and dangerous decisions of truckers by Jeffrey Mannix
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uthor Ryan Lowell worked in Portland, Maine, for more than a decade as a dispatcher for overthe-road truck drivers. The job of a dispatcher of freighted long-haul trucks itself was freighted with rules and regulations embossed onto every aspect of commercial driving. As with air-traffic controllers, truck dispatchers are ruthlessly supervised by numerous state, interstate, federal and local enforcement bureaucracies in order to keep long-haul drivers law abiding. Although these days, truck drivers are monitored by GPS that can loose the dogs on dispatchers when drivers are on the road a minute over 10 hours or are behind the wheel after 14 hours. The regulations, moreover, demand further perfection when it comes to truck maintenance and dispatching, and the whole shebang is overseen as fatuously as prison superintendence. “Freight” is the name of Lowell’s book that has the publishing world simmering right now, and Lowell hangs his stunning story on a night truck dispatcher by the name of Curtis. Curtis is a married man with a 10-year-old boy and a pregnant wife. He’s been to college, rides a moped year round (in Maine) to his graveyard truck-dispatch job that doesn’t pay much. But it is a job in a podunk town with mostly minimum-wage jobs. And the nightshift gives Curtis time to read and write stories he peddles to local rags that pay lunch money. But simply getting published anywhere is enough to keep his dream of writing alive. “Freight” is one of those want-to-be books. Lowell got exceptionally lucky finding either a despairing or sagacious agent who harnessed a bolt of lightning to secure the estimable Little, Brown and Co. to publish a substandard-length book about trucks. Well, a truck heist and murder that makes for a surprisingly jimdandy read.
Dialogue is the currency in this report from the road. Imagine being cooped up in a vibrating, bumpy capsule for 11 hours, with Gatorade bottles to pee in so you don’t lose time; the miles and money standing still. And being alone in a big road behemoth, sitting high above the cars with music filling your cave, and
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now and again talking trash to your dispatcher to keep awake. Or trumpeting your handle on the CB radio hoping to hook one of the few ladies sitting pretty in another big rig rolling your way. You’re living the life, king of the road, cool as ice. That’s how truckers feel, besides lonely, and in “Freight,” a few drivers dispatched by Curtis are making secret but not terribly smart plans to highjack a $10 million load of pharmaceuticals scheduled to cross the border from Canada in one of Curtis’ dispatched trucks. Seems simple enough, only a few drivers involved, cross the border all the time, no problem, no big deal. It’s just a few incalculable details like a snowstorm and Phil driving a single hour over the limit and slamming into a car full of kids. And Theo inviting his mostly drunk girl toy on a road trip to Canada to keep him warm at night but getting sick of her jabbering and putting her feet up on the dash and leaving her at a truck stop. And you’ll want to know what Theo does when he comes out of the truck stop to find his truck stolen and his career fleeting as he walks back in driving snow to call Curtis in dispatch. Lowell has crafted an unpretentious book of extraordinary incidents and simple people, and I’m absolutely certain his first draft was done by hand on yellow pads. It would be so refreshing to hear that he sold a million books in the U.S. and millions in translations, became rich and never wrote another book. That’s how good this one is. He’s a natural, though, and “Freight” is simply a pleasure to read. And among all the crime fiction I read, this is one of the very few books I couldn’t wait to get back to. Just about all of the books you read about in “Murder Ink” you absolutely should read. But if you don’t get around to reading this industry sleeper, you’ll be missing a good time. And again, ask the lovely people at Maria’s Bookshop for their generous 15% “Murder Ink” discount. ■
Sept. 3, 2026 n 11
StufftoDo
Thursday03 Thursday Morning Cribbage, 8-10 a.m., Just the Drip Coffee Shop, 1600 Florida Rd Elmore’s Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 306 Florida Grange, 656 CR 172 Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 9 a.m., Durango Harley-Davidson, 750 S. Camino Del Rio Chuck Hank play Ska-B-Q, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. Campus Champs, bike races and events presented by FLC Cycling, 5-8 p.m., FLC Clocktower
Submit items for “Stuff to Do” by Monday at noon at: www.durangotelegraph.com/send-us-your-stuff-to-do/
Leah Orlikowski plays, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho, 975 Main Ave. Spanish Conversation Hour, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. Dart Tournament, 5:30-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Matt Lewis plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Jeff Solon Jazz plays, 6 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Cult Movie Federation of Mancos: “Dr. Strangelove” or “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” 6 p.m. doors, Mancos Opera House, 136 Grand Ave. “Delaying Care for Profit is Deadly,” stories about betrayal by insurance companies, 6-7 p.m., Zoom, https://forms.gle/mJMHmBbaBCffCv3q8 Moe Coole and Willie Perritt play, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Improv or DIE! Improv Comedy, 6:30 p.m., Black Heron Lounge, 736 Main Ave. Trivia Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio Bluegrass Jam, 6:30-9 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice, 3000 Main Ave.
Friday04 Veterans Friday Morning Coffee, 8-10:30 a.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave. Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 9 a.m., Durango Harley-Davidson, 750 S. Camino Del Rio The ArtRoom’s 5th Birthday Bash, 4-7 p.m., The Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. Durango First Friday, 4-7 p.m., various locations,
12 n Sept. 3, 2026
Downtown Durango Jason Thies and Jeff Haspel play, 4:30-7 p.m., Toh-Atin Gallery, 145 W. 9th St
Larry Carver & Friends 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.
Matthew Sievers “Illuminated Expression,” opening reception, 5-7 p.m., Blue Rain Gallery, 934 Main Ave., Unit B
Starry Starry Night plays, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio
Nathan Schmidt plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Lizard Head Quartet plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Student Art Showcase by Seed Studio and Stillwater Music, opening reception, 6-8 p.m., The Light Box at Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave., ste c
Joel & Jenni play, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
Ross Douglas plays, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Jeff Solon plays, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio
“New & Used: An Exploration of Life in Youth and Aging Through Spoken Word,” 6:30-8:30 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
The Sweet Lillies w/ guest perform, 7 p.m. doors, Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.
Dustin Burley plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Sunday06
“New & Used: An Exploration of Life in Youth and Aging Through Spoken Word,” 6:308:30 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. Treasure Hunt, 7 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave. Pet Guiliani plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. Ragged Oak w/ Eli Emmitt Band play, 8-10 p.m., iAM Music’s Indigo Room, 1315 Main Ave.
Saturday05 Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 noon, TBK parking lot, 259 W. 9th St. Bayfield Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 noon, Pine Valley Church, 1328 CR 501 Purgatory Mushroom Festival Foray, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Purgatory Resort
Durango Flea Market, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 9 a.m., Durango Harley-Davidson, 750 S. Camino Del Rio 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 Jam, 12:30-3 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice, 3000 Main Ave. Keith Burnstein & Tom Andes play, 3-6 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Blue Moon Ramblers play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 9 a.m., Durango Harley-Davidson, 750 S. Camino Del Rio
“New & Used: An Exploration of Life in Youth and Aging Through Spoken Word,” 6:308:30 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.
Mesa Verde Literary Festival, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Mancos
Monday07 Labor Day
Space Cowboy X Future Town, exhibition opening, 1-5 p.m., Dancing Spirit Community Arts Center, 465 Goddard Ave., Ignacio
Charmaine Stewart plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Tibetan Buddhist Practice Group, 4 p.m., Dreams of Tibet, 988 Main Ave.
Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Matthew Sievers Artist Demonstration, 5-7 p.m., Blue Rain Gallery, 934 Main Ave., Unit B
Jazz Church, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
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AskRachel
In the gutter, banana dance and outside the box Interesting fact: Josephine Baker, renowned entertainer, was also a World War II spy. She wrote intel in invisible ink on her sheet music, much like I do on this advice column. Dear Rachel, I see that people are putting political signage in the ditches of highways in the county. Don’t they know it’s illegal to litter or post signs and posters on highways? I think law enforcement should charge them with littering. I think a better idea is to advertise in the local papers, and after reading, recycle them. Your thoughts? – Ditch Weed Dear Gutter Growth, Hahahahahahahahahahaha. You think political parties are stopped by what’s illegal? Hahahahahaha. Maybe in Europe or someplace else all socialist and responsible, but not here in these American States of America, where we don’t care about the environment except for making sure the lakes are American even though most of the Americans aren’t. Good one. – Vote for me, Rachel
comes home with a gigantic bunch of bananas that are all about to become overripe if you even so much as look at them. No place, short of a zoo or gorilla preserve, can consume this many bananas. Inevitably, most of them end up going bad. I have tried to do the banana buying, hoping he will see we already have the correct amount and stop. But he still comes home every week with his giant stash, like some kind of Harry Belafonte. How do I get him to stop before my freezer runneth over? And don’t tell me to make banana bread – I am a horrible baker. – Carmen Dear Peeled Back, You’re a horrible baker. But would you make a good … Josephine Baker? Strap those ‘nanners to your noonies and get groovin’. This may not actually discourage the banana-buying. The banana dance was renowned for its eroticism. But, you will at least know the bananas got put to use before you tossed them. – On the Dole, Rachel
Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com
Dear Rachel, My husband is a chronic banana overbuyer. Each week when he goes to the store, he
Dear Rachel, How much of what I pay when I buy anything online is going for the cardboard boxes? They should be cheap, we basically toss them afterwards. But buying boxes is pricy. My hus-
band started his own Etsy business, and those boxes are like $1-2 apiece, which adds up! Are we really just in a cardboard pyramid scheme? – Thinking Outside the Box Dear Corra Gated, Who buys new cardboard boxes? The whole e-commerce ecosystem means you should be awash in boxes for reuse. But if you’re one of them Responsible Recyclers and not hoarding for the ever-more-inevitable apocalypse, then I might recommend scouring the ditches for political signs. You can tape them together for cheap and easy makeshift boxes. – Signed, sealed, Rachel
Tuesday08
Auction, 5-7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
a.m.-12 noon, La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.
Money Talks, casual personal finance meetup, 5:30 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Nature’s Tapestry in Plein Air Juried Exhibit, thru Oct. 10, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
“An Evening with John Adams,” historical performance, 6 p.m., Ignacio Library, 470 Goddard Ave.
“The Moments That Made US” exhibit, thru Sept. 30, Animas Museum, 3065 W. 2nd Ave.
Clinic Defense at Planned Parenthood, 1 p.m., Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, 46 Suttle St. Charmaine Stewart plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Rotary Club of Durango presents the Durango Dementia Coalition, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.
Mixed Media Maps Creating, 6-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Tuesday Trivia, 6-8:30 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Stitch ‘n’ Bitch craft and conversation, 6-7:30 p.m., FLC Student Union Vallecito Room
2026 Economic Alliance Summit, Thurs., Sept. 10, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Sky Ute Casino
Sean O’Brien plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Trivia Night, 6-8 p.m., Zia Cantina, 2977 Main Ave.
Community Art Show Reception, Thurs., Sept. 10, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Adult Disco Roller Skating, 8-10 p.m., Chapman Hill
Wednesday09 Durango Daybreak Rotary, 7-8 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds Women’s Collective Monthly Open Gathering, 8:30-10 a.m., Durango Collective, 1315 Main Ave. Twin Buttes Farm Stand, 3-6:30 p.m., 165 Tipple Ave. Durango Early Learning Center Art Exhibit and
Charmaine Stewart plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Writers & Scribblers, 6:15-7:45 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. San Juan Basin Archaeological Society meeting, 7 p.m., FLC Lyceum Room and Zoom
Upcoming
Patrick Crossing plays, Fri., Sept. 11, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio “An Octet for All Ages,” presented by San Juan Symphony, Fri., Sept. 11, 7 p.m., St. Mark’s Church, 910 E. 3rd Ave. Durango Derby, Sat., Sept. 12, 8 a.m., Durango Mesa Park Durango Pride Parade, Sat., Sept. 12, 10 a.m., D&SNGRR Station, 479 Main Ave.
Ongoing Dementia/Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group, 1st, 3rd & 5th Wednesday of each month, 10:30
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Durango Pride Celebration, Sat., Sept. 12, 11-3 p.m., Buckley Park Sept. 3, 2026 n 13
FreeWillAstrology by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Most of us are surprisingly clueless about the inner workings of our own bodies. Do you know where your gallbladder and spleen actually live or what jobs they perform on your behalf? Can you trace the journey your breath takes after it slips into your lungs? Have you ever experimented to discover in detail which foods best suit your one-of-a-kind system? Do you know, from experience rather than guesswork, how much sleep you require to stay vividly awake and emotionally balanced? The current astrological climate favors you becoming a curious apprentice of your body’s gorgeous mysteries. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The English idiom “cut to the chase” comes from the silent films of the early 20th century. When the plot dragged, directors would literally switch to a chase scene to restore audience interest. Various languages have other ways to say “get to the point” or “skip to the crux.” Spanish: ir al grano. French: aller droit au but. Italian: venire al dunque. Japanese: hondai ni hairu. In accordance with astrological omens, I suggest you do that in coming days. Skip the boring parts. Jump to the action scenes. You can return later and fill in the details, but for now move toward the essence.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Now is an ideal time to have fun cultivating the art of receptivity. Have fun being as open to influence as you can imagine. Be innocent! Be amenable! Be willing and eager to be surprised! It doesn’t mean surrendering your drive or drifting aimlessly while life happens around you. I’m talking about an active, alert sensitivity that invites wonder and transformation. You think boldly, act with purpose, and radiate what’s uniquely yours, and yet you also remain humbly aware that learning never ends and that wisdom can arrive from unpredictable directions. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’ve been extra reasonable lately. How do you manage to be so responsible, measured, and composed? I’m not complaining. I admire your integrity. But now the cosmic omens are clear that’s it’s time to address your soul’s needs for more wonder and awe and reverence. So I will slip you a tantalizing prod: What’s the best, most healing trouble you could provoke right now? I’m not referring to recklessness and chaos, of course. I mean twists and tweaks that stir up inspiration and liberate creativity. Are you bold enough to follow the truth and beauty that thrills and intrigues you?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): This is one of those unusual times when laziness and apathy work in your favor. Life is organizing a relaxing renewal on your behalf, and your main job is to not interfere. So I advise you to skip the hustle and enjoy the thrill of being still. Put a pause on doing and indulge in the fine art of simply being. Please, Gemini? Set aside your ambitions for now. Hide your to-do list. Inform your chattering monkey mind that it’s on temporary leave from its usual jumping and squawking. Feel guilt-free as you immerse yourself in the most relaxed versions of feeling good and welcome whatever fresh vitality wants to flow in.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I am asking you to give yourself slack in situations where you sometimes treat yourself carelessly or unkindly. Instead of tightening, loosen. Instead of cornering yourself, offer an escape hatch. Ask: “What if I give myself 20% more mercy, 20% more time, or 20% less pressure?” Maybe you’ll get an extension on a deadline or allow yourself to be a learner instead of an expert. Rather than calling yourself a failure because you’re less than perfect, you’ll decide, “It’s good enough for now.” As you slip away from the traps you set for yourself, you’ll teach your nervous system a fresh truth: You can be gentle with yourself but still be responsible.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the 17th century, Dutch inventor Christiaan Huygens discovered that two pendulum clocks hanging on the same wall gradually synchronized their swings. Why? He eventually realized that tiny vibrations traveled through the wall and made the clocks influence each other. Scientists call this “entrainment.” Now is prime time for you to capitalize on this phenomenon. Be extra alert for how your moods, rhythms, and intentions subtly affect the people around you, and vice versa. If you cultivate qualities you’d like to predominate in your relationships, you will find others unconsciously aligning with your rhythm.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio, you rarely need to be lighter and breezier. Your assignment is almost always to delve deeper and explore further. This is true now even more than usual. Other people might shiver and cower in the face of your intensity, but I celebrate it because it drives you to excavate the rich, messy truths and complicated feelings that really shouldn’t stay hidden. Regard this horoscope as your authorization to wield your emotional X-ray vision with precision, and to trust that the treasures you seek are often buried in places that scare others away.
14 n Sept. 3, 2026
telegraph
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In classical music, composers often develop a simple motif into a complex symphony. A short sequence of notes becomes the foundation for an entire composition. A key passage gets rearranged and elaborated in multiple ways. You will have a comparable opportunity in the coming weeks, Sagittarius: a seed of potential that seems modest at first could expand into more substantial riches if you cultivate it patiently. Your visionary aplomb and optimism can transform a core cell into a full orchestration. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You seem to be wandering in a frontier for which there are no maps. You’re hovering in liminal zones, between worlds. So for now, I guess you will have to steer without your usual guidance. That’s a good thing! What I can do is name the gifts that are likely to come your way as you explore the unknown: 1) turbo-charged intuitions about your best possible future; 2) a talent for spotting surprising connections you didn’t know you were looking for; and 3) a provocative unpredictability that magnetizes allies who can help illuminate your hidden and buried desires. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The placebo effect has a lesser-known counterpart called the nocebo effect: Negative expectations can create negative outcomes. If you’re told a harmless pill might cause headaches, you’re more likely to develop them. Your belief in harm creates actual harm. I bring this up, Aquarius, because I’m worried you may be nocebo-ing yourself right now. Your conviction that certain outcomes are inevitable is encouraging them to manifest. So here’s my counsel: Which negative expectations or predictions are you treating as facts? Consider the possibility that the problems you’re so skilled at identifying are being called into existence by your identification of them. And if you find that’s happening, STOP! Formulate some healing alternatives. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Dear Rob: Your horoscopes delight me in a spooky way. They make me feel as if you’re watching me from afar, not like a stalker, but like an eccentric guardian angel who gives me a headsup before I do something foolish, tells me about opportunities I haven’t noticed, and shakes awake the part of me that’s inclined to quit. Thanks a million times! – Deep Pisces.” Dear Deep: You have exquisite timing, because now is an ideal moment to pour out gratitude for the people who’ve lifted you up and helped you. Offering appreciation now will function as a potent prayer that will be far more effective than pleading for what you don’t have. It will set in motion an irresistible magic that draws even more blessings in your direction.
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Men's Cancer Networking Group SWCO Men’s Cancer Advocacy group to inspire men to stay connected and avoid isolation during their cancer journey. Open to all Cancer Warriors and caregivers. hope@cancersupportswco.org or call 970-403-3711.
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
BodyWork Stressed Out?! Treat yourself to a hot stone massage, Kristara Waldron, LMT. 10 years practicing in Durango. Text or book online today! thistleandfrog.com • 716.338.2858 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.
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Services Values Based Budgeting Personal finances, small business owners, goal support, customized to you. Alyse 910 515 9486
Engaging Volunteer Opportunity Join our team of dedicated volunteers. Alternative Horizons is looking for individuals that would like to make a difference in their community. AH has been empowering and supportive survivors of domestic violence since 1978. Become a
HaikuMovieReview ‘Americana’ Sydney Sweeney’s speech impediment aside this film was really good – Lainie Maxson volunteer hotline advocate. Flexible opportunity to fit your schedule, learn new skills and build new relationships. Training and ongoing support provided. Please call 970-247-4374 or visit our website at alternativehorizons.org.
Boiler Service - Water Heater Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917
CommunityService 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. The number of submissions is capped at 200. Visit durangoplayfest.org/submit-aplay for guidelines and information. 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.
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16 n Sept. 3, 2026
telegraph