Richard Redd: Expansion: Boulder’s soul has been replaced with condos
My family moved to Boulder in the summer of 1986 to escape the South in search of a better quality of life.
I quickly realized that my mother had surmised correctly in choosing to move here. The abundance of outdoor activities, biking and hiking trails, and intellectually stimulating opportunities presented by CU and the many science and tech companies in the area greatly exceeded anything I had encountered. What made Boulder truly special, however, was the soul of the town, which was created by the people, the many unique stores and businesses, and a local government’s commitment to providing a better quality of life.
I left Boulder in the late ’90s to attend grad school and have sadly never found my way back except to visit family and friends. Somewhere along the way, I think, the government sold out to developers who chose to replace so much of what made Boulder special with condominiums. The controlled growth rate of the city has been replaced by a population explosion that has transformed Boulder into an unrecognizable place, leaving only traces of the Boulder I once knew.
The damage is done. Boulder has changed and will never be what it once was. Shame on the men and women who probably profited greatly from these changes and at the expense of the soul of Boulder. It is now so very easy to see why Colorado has transformed into Condo-rado.
Richard Redd, Antelope, California
Marsha Caplan: Camera: Local paper must be easy to read
On Monday, July 25, the front page of the “new look” Daily Camera used one-half of the above-the-fold space for its overly large masthead and headline. The paper and ink used for just those two things probably would have been enough to restore the size and readability of the two crossword puzzles. The new and unnecessary white space between the comic strips causes the words to be squashed together. If that space was reduced or eliminated, one might even be able to read the comics. The weekly repeated volunteer/resources pages have, by now, been committed to memory. Use that paper space and ink to enhance readability. Come on publishers, we want to support our local paper but we need to be able to easily read it.
Marsha Caplan, Boulder
