Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2015 i 5280 Magazine

SUBSCRIPTIONS A one-year subscription to 5280 costs $19 for 12 issues. A two-year subscription costs $34. Special corporate and group rates are available; call 303-832-5280 for details. To start a new subscription, to renew an existing subscription, or to change your address, call 1-866-271-5280 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, or send an email to circulation@5280.com. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, CALENDAR & DINING GUIDE Letters to the Editor must include your name, address (both of which can be withheld upon request), and a daytime phone number. Letters may be submitted via regular mail, fax (303-832-0470), or email (letters@5280.com). Calendar events should include a basic description of the event; its time, date, place, and cost; and a phone…

1 Number of teenage dreams fulfilled when deputy editor Lindsey B. Koehler interviewed ESPN’s Chris Fowler for “Broken Play” (page 116), an in-depth analysis of the University of Colorado Boulder’s struggling football program. 2 Number of times associate editor Spencer Campbell checked to make sure “chones” (“Hey Mr. DJ,” page 34), the moniker of a local radio personality, is Spanish slang for tighty-whities, not boxers. 3 Number of years it took, from conception to publication date, for freelance photographer Aaron Colussi’s vivid photo essay of a hotshot crew (“Into The Fire,” page 132) to appear in print. Colussi says he is one of just a few photojournalists not employed by the U.S. government to have ever been allowed on the fire line. 40 Approximate number of words the editorial staff…

STARTUP SUPERSTARS Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Jay Z all have beautiful homes, outsize influence, and bank accounts that are the envy of many small nations. What they don’t have are college diplomas—and we’re guessing they’re fine with the trade-off . With role models like this, startup-mad adolescents are beginning to wonder why they should spend four years muddling through Goethe at universities when all they want to do is emulate Gates. “That’s a good pressure on us to have,” says Phil Weiser, dean of the University of Colorado Boulder Law School and founder of the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, a research institute at CU. The fact that college is no longer a no-brainer for burgeoning entrepreneurs, Weiser says, is forcing Colorado schools to create practical,…

In the final round of the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club, Arnold Palmer hit the first green (a par four!) with his first shot—en route to a seven-shot comeback victory over, among others, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan. In 1996, Judy Bell of Colorado Springs broke one of golf’s most distressing barriers by becoming the first female president of the United States Golf Association. Unfortunately, she’s still the only woman to have held the job. Nicklaus may have lost the 1960 U.S. Open, but he had plenty of success in Colorado. That includes his first and last USGA titles (the 1959 U.S. Amateur at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and the 1993 U.S. Senior Open at Cherry Hills). The 1938 U.S. Open was the state’s first major.…

Lakewood native Sharon Perdue spent two years searching for a piece of Front Range property where she could breed her draft horses. In 2003, she found a fertile, eightacre piece of land in Longmont, on Burch Lake, that came with a little something extra: a 20-tree apple orchard. When she wasn’t tending to her horses, Perdue nurtured Ya Ya Farm & Orchard’s trees, taking the literal fruits of her labor to Longmont’s weekly farmers’ market. There she listened to customers wax poetic about childhood memories of fall apple-picking on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Inspired by their fond recollections, Perdue expanded her orchard to 860 trees, which today hold 128 apple varieties, from McIntosh and Macoun to Winesap and Honeycrisp. Beginning this month, and through mid-October, families can…

IN THE 1960S, 32 carnation farms dotted Wheat Ridge, a few miles west of downtown Denver. Before growers moved their operations to South America—where it’s cheaper to grow the flowers—in the 1980s, Wheat Ridge produced roughly 40 million blooms a year. Today, all of the flower farms are gone, but the city celebrates its legacy with the Carnation Festival (August 14 to 16) in Anderson Park. The annual fete attracts more than 25,000 attendees, so parking isn’t easy. Solution: Park and ride. Each of the nine trailheads along the revitalized Wheat Ridge Greenbelt has a parking lot, so you can stash your car, unload your two-wheeler, and pedal the six-and-a-half miles of (mostly) paved trail along Clear Creek. Just give yourself plenty of time to stop and play at these…

Corey Marshall’s grandpa died four months after Tivoli Brewing Company, one of Colorado’s first breweries, capped its tanks in 1969. “I think there was a direct connection between the two,” Marshall says, noting that Tivoli was the only brew his grandfather would drink. ¶ This month, Marshall revives the family tradition by opening a taproom and brewery inside the original Tivoli building (built in 1870, it’s now the Tivoli Student Union at the Auraria Campus). The former Molson Coors exec restored the brand in 2012, making beer with Tivoli’s last recipe from the 1960s. But without a facility, Marshall had to produce the suds at other local breweries. His new $7 million operation will give him the ability to churn out 15,000 barrels a year and will serve as a…

When you hike Iowa Hill Trail in the White River National Forest, you expect to find lush aspen groves, burbling creeks, and perhaps a passing deer. This month, you might also happen upon a cellist. Trail Mix, a series of 24 miniconcerts along the trails near Breck, is part of the inaugural Breckenridge International Festival of Arts (BIFA) from August 14 to 23. “A festival needs to be fun and entertaining, but I also think it needs to be relevant to a community,” says Robb Woulfe, president and CEO of BreckCreate, a year-old nonprofit dedicated to promoting arts and culture in the mountain town. ¶ BIFA certainly accomplishes that. Its multidisciplinary programs—from dance to music to workshops, the majority of which are free—explore the merger of high-elevation culture and the…

Idina Menzel AUG. 11 Idina Menzel has racked up plenty of accolades for her singing roles in Broadway musicals, including a Tony Award for her part as Elphaba in Wicked. Yet she didn’t make history until she voiced the snow queen Elsa in the Disney smash animated movie Frozen. Menzel’s vocals on “Let It Go,” the film’s anthem, made her the first person to garner both a Tony Award and a Billboard Top 10 hit. Now she brings her five-octave vocal range to Colorado’s most iconic venue, where you can expect a mix of classic pop and musical theater. Tue 8 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Pkwy., Morrison, 720-865-2494, redrocksonline.com. Ticket prices vary. Visit idinamenzel.com. Lynyrd Skynyrd AUG. 2 Over the past four decades, Lynyrd Skynyrd has combined…

IT TAKES AN ENORMOUS amount of effort to keep you and your family healthy. Morning vitamins, nutritious meals, daily exercise, annual checkups, necessary prescriptions—it all adds up in a way that can make thinking about anything else health care–related just a little too taxing. ¶ But here’s the thing: Being informed about what’s happening in Colorado’s medical community is critical to your family’s health, albeit in a big-picture way. For example, what would you do if you thought your child might be sensitive to gluten? Or what if your dad needed help losing weight? Or what if you could assist with breast cancer research without having to write a check? Or what would you do to help your child monitor his diabetes when he goes to college? Would you know…

3,600 Number of Colorado health insurance plans canceled in January 2015 because of a glitch in the state’s ACA exchange. $ 177 MILLION Federal funding in 2014 for Colorado’s health exchange. A report from the state auditor’s office the same year alleged as much as $32 million of these funds have been administered inefficiently and possibly illegally. 190,000 Estimated number of Coloradans who could lose their current plans in 2016 due to ACA rules. About 75,000 of these folks are on individual plans; the rest are insured through their employers.…

“I watched Extreme Weight Loss and was in awe of the people losing weight. At the end of one show, they advertised the Destination Boot Camp at Anschutz. I am five feet five inches tall and weighed 342 pounds when I signed up. My goal weight was 171 pounds. I had done other weight-loss shows’ boot camps. They put you through six hours of exercise a day, so you lose good weight, but when you went home you were on your own. So I quit. I quit so many times. Anschutz doesn’t beat the heck out of you during the week you’re there. The days are long, and you work out a few hours daily, but it’s more about changing your mindset than your waistline. You journal, meet with psychologists,…

RESEARCH: Inflammatory Bowel Disease PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR AND RESEARCH INSTITUTION: Edward J. Hoffenberg, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus ABOUT THE STUDY: Hoffenberg and his team are conducting what’s known as an observational study: They don’t provide patients with any marijuana; they simply track patients who are already using it on their own. In this case, Hoffenberg will follow young adults (ages 13 to 23) who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease to see if patients report improvement in their symptoms. Researchers will track frequency of use and type of marijuana being consumed as well as measure tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) levels in the blood. GRANT AMOUNT: $1,191,329 RESEARCH: Parkinson’s Disease PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR AND RESEARCH INSTITUTION: Maureen A. Leehey, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus ABOUT THE STUDY: Leehey hopes to…

WHILE MANY expectant mothers cite pregnancy as their strongest motivator for quitting smoking, about half resume use within six months of delivering. A new tobacco cessation program called Healthy You, Healthy Baby at Lutheran Medical Center, run with a grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), may help improve those statistics for moms-to-be and their newborns. Since January 2014, every woman who enters the hospital to deliver a baby has been asked if she has used tobacco in the past 12 months; if the answer is yes, a cessation specialist visits post-delivery and uses motivational interviewing, nicotine replacement therapy if appropriate, referrals to services such as the Colorado Quit Line (1-800-QUIT-NOW, coquitline.org), and a followup call six months later to help moms stay away from the…

Each year, the Colorado Health Foundation releases its Colorado Health Report Card, which measures how healthy Coloradans are compared to residents of other states. In 2015, the section of the report focusing on babies—called Healthy Beginnings— caught our eye. Not only did Colorado not crack the top 10 in any of the Healthy Beginnings indicators, the state came out looking pretty dismal in a few specific categories. 40 Colorado’s abysmal state ranking for percentage of low-birth-weight babies (8.8 percent are born under five pounds eight ounces). If the state were ranked number one, 2,000 more babies would be born at a normal birth weight, which would translate to fewer neurological and developmental disabilities. Low birth weight is often attributed to inadequate maternal weight gain, smoking, multiple births (i.e., twins, triplets),…

Chef Eric Skokan’s kids love fresh vegetables from the garden—maybe even a bit too much. “At one point, I almost said to them, ‘Will you guys stop eating all of the vegetables?’ ” Skokan says with a laugh. “But that’s something no parent should ever say.” The chef and owner of Boulder’s Black Cat Farm Table Bistro and Bramble and Hare founded Black Cat Farm in 2007, along with his wife, Jill, to supply their restaurants—and family—with the freshest products. Embrace their dirt-to-plate ethos with these five friendly-for-kids-to-grow vegetables. FOR THE DIRT-DIGGER… PLANT FINGERLING POTATOES Kids adore these no-two-arealike tiny potatoes, which are ready to harvest in about 100 days. Dig a few out at a time, but make sure to fully harvest before the first hard frost. Expert Tip:…

Kids are idea factories, but turning those inventions into reality can be a challenge. Enter Camp Inc., a two-and-ahalf week camp in Steamboat Springs for sixth- to 12th-grade entrepreneurs. Director Josh Pierce says the program—an extension of programming from the Jewish Community Center in Boulder—launched 22 startups in 2014. These mini-moguls pitch apps, tech, and business ideas in a Shark Tank–esque arena—all before they can vote. Says Pierce: “These kids have ideas that rival those of professionals.” campinc.com Kaylie Stenhouse AGE: 16 HOMETOWN: Boulder COMPANY: Diabetech THE IDEA: An implantable glucose monitor that would eliminate painful testing for diabetics and could communicate with a phone app and insulin pump. Eytan Markman-Raffeld AGE: 12 HOMETOWN: Boulder COMPANY: Sun Defense THE IDEA: A pay-by-use sunscreen application structure that would be available at…

AGE: 4 Doors in the Air by David Weale Read it here: In your home, near a window AGE: 5 Journey by Aaron Becker Read it here: While waiting to board a flight at DIA or a Union Station train AGE: 6 Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger Read it here: At the base of a tree in Washington Park AGE: 7 Chalk by Bill Thomson Read it here: Near the rose gardens at City Park AGE: 8 All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon Read it here: On the banks of the South Platte River…

77,000 Minimum number of rubber bands Longmont’s Pastures of Plenty Farm uses each season while preparing its vegetables and flowers for farmers’ markets and CSA members. pasturesofplentyfarm.com EAT CHEAP! OUR FAVORITES Pesto Hand Roll $6.50 Two Spring Rolls $6 Sushi Hand Roll/ Spring Roll Combo $8.50 Miso Soup $2 Chia Seed Pudding $2 TIP: Yatai is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the warmer months. Menus are posted on Facebook, as are any closures. OUTSIDE THE COLORADO Plaza Towers at 17th and California streets, a sizeable lunch-hour line extends from a small blue cart. Unlike the typical inhabitants of queues, however, these downtowners appear patient, even cheerful. This marvel is the handiwork of Britt Bisk, the owner and culinary mastermind behind Yatai, a sushi cart that…

FOLLOW @5280SPOTLIGHT for a BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK a t 5280 MARKETING ONGOINGS. THE LEGENDS GOLF TOURNAMENT AUGUST 6 Sanctuary Golf Course. RE/MAX, LLC presents the Volunteers of America Legends Golf Tournament with baseball luminary Todd Helton. This charitable sporting event brings in Hall of Famers from the worlds of golf and baseball to benefit Volunteers of America Colorado Branch and its contiuum of familystrengthening services. Information at voacolorado.org. CHERRY CREEK NORTH FOOD & WINE AUGUST 8, 6–9 P.M. Fillmore Plaza. The seventh annual Cherry Creek North Food & Wine celebrates the diverse and sophisticated tastes of over 20 of the area’s most well-loved dining establishments. Food is complemented with wine, beer, spirits, live music, and more! This event will satisfy the wine aficionado and the foodie in all of us. Information…

SEPTEMBER Explore Mackintosh | Pre-K to 8th grade MACKINTOSH ACADEMY Monthly, September through March. Come tour our campus, explore our curriculum and community. Open house events occur throughout the year or you can call to schedule a personalized tour. Dates and times listed here: mackintoshacademy.com/admissions/visitus. We currently have openings in several classrooms. For more information, please call or write: Littleton (303) 794-6222 beth@mackintoshacademy.com and Boulder call (303) 554-2011 jenny@mackintoshacademy.com. 2 | Open House BROOMFIELD ACADEMY September 2: 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Other dates: October 7, November 4, December 2, January 13. For children ages 2 1/2 through middle school. Broomfield Academy provides individualized programming, small class sizes and an advanced curriculum. Programs include instruction in swimming, Spanish, Chinese, music and technology. RSVP broomfieldacademy.com or (303) 469-6449. 2 | Open…

5859 S . UNIVERSITY BLVD., GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO 80121 | ( 303) 346 -3500 | ASPENACADEMY.ORG ASPEN ACADEMY PROVIDES YOUR CHILD A door to the future through a challenging and relevant academic experience, a nationally recognized character and leadership program and a deliberate focus on community strength and service. We are a co-educational, independent school that serves children from junior kindergarten through the 8th grade. Our leading edge campus is located in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Aspen academics combines exceptional teachers, small class sizes, and the highest performing educational systems that teach our students to be both critical thinkers as well as adept problem solvers. Education is about who you are, not just what you know. We foster a strong work ethic in partnership with our parent community that teaches a…

2701 S. YORK ST., DENVER, CO 80210 | (303) 756-9481 | ST-ANNES.ORG AT ST. ANNE’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL IN DENVER, children discover a magical place full of magnificent flower gardens, secret passages and spaces that speak of love and caring that began long ago. For over 60 years, the focus of St. Anne’s has been the well-being of children. Students are provided with a balanced program of academics, athletics, and the arts. While emphasizing inclusivity, the school builds character and integrity upon a spiritual, moral and ethical foundation. St. Anne’s strives to foster the development of people who go on to make significant and lasting contributions to society. Parents are encouraged to become active participants in the education of their children, both at home and at school. Students and parents value…

BRIGHT HORIZONS MONTESSORI SCHOOLS are inspiring, carefully planned places where children achieve academic excellence and lifelong skills and are encouraged to reach their full potential. The Montessori educational approach invites children to learn at their own pace: to question, experiment, and grow as their curiosity and readiness dictates. We set high expectations for children and empower them to find their path of learning, an approach that helps them develop self-confidence, self-discipline, and independence. Children from infancy through Kindergarten thrive in the child-centered, inviting world of a Montessori classroom. Our classrooms empower children by encouraging them to self-direct their activities in a carefully prepared, dynamic environment that fosters learning and invites inquiry. Children are guided toward establishing a solid foundation for growth and development while acquiring the skills they need throughout…

3800 S. PIERCE ST., DENVER, CO 80235 | (303) 914-2513 | COLORADOACADEMY.ORG FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS, the promise of Colorado Academy has been the pursuit of academic excellence. We understand the need to provide each new generation with the most relevant education. We set high standards for every child, and the community brings energy and commitment to help each student find success through— • Innovative curricula that inspire critical thinking and creativity • Talented teachers who instill motivation and self-discipline • Character education based on the practice of courage and kindness • Athletics & Arts that promote teamwork and initiative • Experiential & outdoor trips that develop leadership and resilience • Friendships that last a lifetime We are seeking highly qualified students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 from a…

In 1990, I was an impressionable high school sophomore doing all the things impressionable high school sophomores do. I was pushing the limits of the freedom provided by a driver’s license and reveling in extracurricular parties. I was falling in love with literature—and with girls. And, of course, I was thinking about college. In fact, I began daydreaming about what would come after high school my freshman year, when my mom worked in the career center at my high school. When classes ended, I would wander over and thumb through college course catalogs, thinking how cool it would be to study Joyce and Woolf and Melville and stroll the manicured lawns of a historic campus. But because I was a red-blooded 16-year-old boy, I was also into sports—and the truth…

The forest of cranes sprouting up over luxury apartment projects in Denver demonstrates that we know how to grow more than craft breweries. But nothing ruins fancy digs faster than Fido’s squishy souvenirs. That’s why many upscale residential communities have turned to PooPrints, a kind of canine CSI program off ered by Tennessee-based Biotech Pet Vet Labs that ensures properties pass the literal sniff test. When residents with dogs move into a building, Spot gets a quick cheek swab for DNA. Then, if there’s untended pet waste on the property, the owners or managers can send a sample (eww) to PooPrints, which uses DNA technology to identify the off ending pooch. The residential community decides how to handle the infraction, but typically it’s a fine. Denver is one of the…

Seated next to each other in class, Jimmy and Tommy look harmless. But as Mrs. Smith takes attendance on her tablet, a flag alerts her that the boys disrupted class last period. This is just one of the ways educators benefit from Schoolrunner, software developed by Denver’s Charlie Coglianese. The concept is simple: Educators upload data—from quiz grades to behavioral problems—into a cloudbased platform, which then shares the info with all of a student’s teachers. Beyond basic grades, teachers can pinpoint concepts their students are struggling with and adjust lesson plans accordingly. Such data sharing isn’t a new practice, “but somehow it’s still novel in schools,” says Coglianese, who used to develop programs for hedge funds and BlackRock, an investment management corporation in New York City. Launched in the fall…

CONAKRY, CAPITAL OF THE West African country Guinea, gained notoriety during last year’s tragic Ebola outbreak, but its happier claim to fame is music and movement. The small nation is an epicenter for African dance and drums and is home to the continent’s most famous dance troupe, Les Ballets Africains. This month, the athletic, high-flying dance style, deep bass of dundun drums, and slaps of djembes that enliven Guinea’s concrete dance halls move to Loveland’s Sunrise Ranch during Camp Merveilles (August 11 to 17). The weeklong African drumming and dance camp brings together some of the world’s top performers for classes and demonstrations that are open to the public. Among this year’s featured guests: Guinea’s Youssouf Koumbassa, whose dancing image was projected five stories tall on the outside wall of…

TO APPRECIATE HOW FIERCELY Mario Rodriguez clings to his roots, consider his nom de plume, D.J. Chonz. As a middle schooler, Rodriguez was known for wearing “chones” (Spanish slang for underwear) at home and little else. “People started calling me Chonz,” the 38-year-old says. Rodriguez has earned good mileage out of those tightywhities: Today, he hosts the afternoon show on Denver’s most popular rap station, FM-107.5, teaches in the University of Colorado Denver’s Summer Music Industry Program (which has a scholarship in his name), and, on August 8, will co-promote the Freestyle World Qualifier, a three-on-three breakdancing contest (think You Got Served) at Beta Nightclub. Chonz recently gave 5280 a tour of his house, off ering proof that living in the past doesn’t make you a relic. 1 GOORIN BROS.…

RIGHT COAST PIZZA By “Right Coast,” owners Mark Eskow and Justin Vogel mean East Coast— specifically, New Jersey, where Eskow was born. Right Coast’s thin slices come with a delicious balance of the restaurant’s original sauce, cheese, and toppings such as house-made sausage and freshly roasted chiles. rightcoastpizza.com ORDER THIS! Custom pizza by the slice, starting at $2.59 COLORADO PLUS BREW PUB If you’re more interested in a liquid lunch, this locavore spot is for you. The two-year-old pub hosts a rotating cast of 56 Colorado beers such as Grand Junction’s Kannah Creek Standing Wave pale ale and its own Undead Red, a boozy Belgian red ale. coloradoplus.net ORDER THIS! The $10 buildyour-own beer flight with five fourounce pours, in addition to a house-made beer brat CLANCY’S PUB At the…

Aaron Ney’s answer to how he’d like to change the world sounds like a pageant queen’s response: end hunger and develop food sustainability. The thing is, this 38-year-old Iowa native is actually doing it on a farm plot in Lowry. Seventy-five percent of the harvest at Ekar Farm, Ney’s one-and-a-halfacre haven planted with close to 100 vegetable varieties, is given to families in need. In its sixth growing season, Ekar is on pace to exceed the 18,000 pounds of organic food it grew in 2014. ¶ On August 30, Ekar hosts the Tour de Farm bike ride and fund-raiser. The 16-mile out-andback cruise along the High Line Canal stops at Sprout City Farm at Denver Green School and DeLaney Community Farm for tours. Once you’re done pedaling, you’ll kick back…

ANDREW TODD’S OFFICE DOUBLES AS HIS PLAYGROUND. As a Denver-based federal research biologist, Todd spends his days monitoring trout in creeks throughout the San Luis Valley—and in the evenings, he casts fishing lines into those same waters. When he started running between them to squeeze in workouts, too, the 40-year-old was inspired to turn his after-hours routine into an amusing triathlon: the Rocky Mountain Flyathlon. Now in its second official year, the event combines trail running, fly-fishing, and craft-beer drinking. On August 15, 60 participants will pound the dirt in the Rio Grande National Forest near Saguache, pausing only to fish for trout (rainbow, brown, brook, or Rio Grande cutthroat). Last year’s race raised $6,500 for Colorado Trout Unlimited, an organization that supports watershed restoration projects; this year’s goal is…

HOLLYWOOD AGENTS would never cast Zach Cheikho in the stereotypical rebel role. The 16-year-old maintains a 3.5 GPA at Denver’s South High School and speaks in a measured manner that brings to mind airport public service announcements. With his glossy, dark-rimmed glasses, he seems more likely to play the sensitive, bookish kid in a smart, quirky coming-of-age story. But, as it turns out, Cheikho is the kind of politically motivated rabble-rouser school administrators have come to fear in recent years. Since the eighth grade, Cheikho has refused to take most standardized tests—and he’s campaigned for other students to boycott testing too. Last March, he spent his lunch periods distributing opt-out letters to fellow students, many of whom signed the handouts and filed them with South High’s leadership. “The tests take…

MEDICAL MYSTERY LET’S JUST PUT this one in the that’stotally-unfair category: About 80 percent of the estimated 23.5 million Americans with autoimmune disorders (think: lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and celiac disease) are women. Why the gender gap? That’s what Kira Rubtsova, Philippa Marrack, and Anatoly V. Rubtsov at National Jewish Health’s Department of Biomedical Research are on a quest to discover. Partially funded by two U.S. Public Health Service grants, the team has spent six years figuring out why women are getting these incurable diseases—and what medical researchers can do about it. Here’s a quick glance at their crusade: THE QUESTION: What causes autoimmune disorders, and why do they occur more frequently in women? THE HYPOTHESIS: Having two X chromosomes and reproductive hormones can disrupt a woman’s healthy immune system. AHA!…

The percentage of Colorado kindergartners who were fully vaccinated against the measles during the 2013-2014 school year, ranking the Centennial State dead last among 49 states and the District of Columbia (stats for Wyoming were not available). The issue of immunizations garnered national attention last year when an outbreak of vaccine-preventable measles that began in California—and moved to multiple states, including Colorado—sickened dozens of people. Colorado’s lousy vaccination rates are partly attributable to high exemption rates: The state is one of 20 that allow parents to opt their children out of immunizations for any reason. The problem with that? Experts say that once the vaccination rate drops below 95 percent, the population loses its “herd immunity,” which can be a huge problem for people who cannot get vaccines because of…

CLINICAL TRIAL BUILDING UP YOUR immune system is a good thing, right? Maybe not, if you are one of the more than 9,700 people in Colorado estimated to be fighting multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease in which the immune system attacks the nervous system. Researchers don’t know what causes MS, why so many Coloradans are impacted (the state has one of the highest rates in the country), or how to cure it, but they do think the immune system could be the key. If we know why—or when—the immune system goes from protecting the body to attacking it, perhaps we can prevent or cure the disease. That’s what prompted Dr. Richard Nash, a hematologist at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, to undertake a five-year, phase…

IF YOU GOT A NASTY respiratory illness last fall, you weren’t alone. Millions of American lives were interrupted by runny noses, coughing attacks, and diffi culty breathing. The culprit? Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), a bug that’s in the same viral family as poliovirus but wasn’t thought to cause paralysis like its infamous sibling. That is, until 2014, when doctors at Children’s Hospital Colorado began noticing patients exhibiting unexplained weakness. Pediatric neurologist Dr. Teri Schreiner initially thought some of the kids they were seeing might have transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder caused by inflammation of the spinal cord. But as more children came to the hospital complaining of various weaknesses, Schreiner, as well as pediatric infectious disease specialists Dr. Kevin Messacar and Dr. Samuel Dominguez, began to believe there was something distinct…

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER’S much-anticipated Knoebel Center for the Study of Aging will ramp up this September, when newly hired director Lotta Granholm-Bentley arrives in Denver. The center, which has been in the works since 2010, will be housed in a currently underconstruction building slated to open in summer 2016. In the meantime, Granholm-Bentley will begin the tasks of hiring a grant writer and a program coordinator and schmoozing research and business partners. We asked her—along with DU chancellor Rebecca Chopp—to list a few of the ways that they envision the center will educate students and benefi t the community. » Granholm-Bentley wants the center to ultimately offer a minor in gerontology (the study of the social, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging). “We want our law students, engineering students,…

The approximate percentage decrease in Colorado’s teen pregnancy rate between 2009 and 2013. This drop might be attributed, in part, to expanded access to and education about long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), such as birth control injections and implants and intrauterine devices. (Private funding has provided the state with $5 million per year since 2009 to increase access to LARC at federally funded Title X clinics.) According to Mary Jane Cassalia, a youth health specialist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, more than a quarter of teens in Colorado Title X clinics choose a LARC method. That’s the highest rate in the country. Colorado’s state-mandated, commonsense approach to sex education may have something to do with the drop in teen pregnancy, too. In 2013, the Legislature reinforced a…

AURORA – The Medical Center of Aurora—HealthOne AURORA SOUTH – The Medical Center of Aurora-South Campus— HealthOne AVISTA – Avista Adventist Hospital—Centura Health BOULDER COMMUNITY – Boulder Community Health CASTLE ROCK – Castle Rock Adventist Hospital—Centura Health CHILDREN’S – Children’s Hospital Colorado CRAIG – Craig Hospital DENVER HEALTH – Denver Health Medical Center GOOD SAMARITAN – Good Samaritan Medical Center—SCL Health KINDRED – Kindred Hospital Denver LITTLETON – Littleton Adventist Hospital—Centura Health LONGMONT – Longmont United Hospital LUTHERAN – Lutheran Medical Center—SCL Health NATIONAL JEWISH – National Jewish Health NORTH SUBURBAN – North Suburban Medical Center—HealthOne ORTHOCOLORADO – OrthoColorado Hospital—Centura Health PARKER – Parker Adventist Hospital—Centura Health PLATTE VALLEY – Platte Valley Medical Center PORTER – Porter Adventist Hospital—Centura Health PRESBYTERIAN/ST. LUKE’S – Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center—HealthOne RMHC – Rocky…

1982 CU hires Bill McCartney as its head football coach. 1985 CU hires its 15th president, Gordon Gee, who is known for his support of athletics. 1985 The CU football team has its first winning season in seven years. 1989 SEASON The Buffs go 11-1 and battle the University of Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl for a shot at the national title. They lose the game 21-6. 1990 McCartney founds Promise Keepers, a conservative Christian ministry for men. 1990 McCartney signs a 15-year contract extension. 1990 Gee leaves for Ohio State University; William H. Baughn serves as interim president before Judith Albino becomes president in 1991. 1990 SEASON The Buffs go 11-1-1 and face Notre Dame (again) in the Orange Bowl. They win 10-9, earning a piece of the…

Chances are your little Peyton Manning–jersey-wearing tyke won’t make the roster of a Division I college sports team. We know he or she will try hard, but of the more than 20 million American children ages six to 18 involved in team athletics, only a small percentage move on to NCAA sports. And that’s OK, says Fort Collins resident Linda Crum, who’s played and coached Division I volleyball since 1978—including helping coach Ohio State to the Final Four in 1994. Crum is a mother to three girls and the Colorado executive director of the Positive Coaching Alliance, a national nonprofi t focused on integrating affi rming life lessons into the sporting realm. She helps adults reinforce the most benefi cial aspects—such as perseverance, self-confi dence, and cooperation—of the games kids…

2 POUNDS FINGERLING POTATOES OIL FOR FRYING 1 CLOVE GARLIC SALT • Wash the potatoes. In a medium pot, combine potatoes with enough water to cover. Season the water with salt until it tastes like the sea (ask your kid to sample it). Boil the potatoes until they are tender, about 15 minutes (the potatoes should have almost no bite left). Drain the potatoes in a colander; allow to cool and dry. • Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat at least 4 inches of oil to 375 degrees. Once the potatoes have cooled a bit, flatten or smash them. Add the smashed potatoes, in batches, to the oil to fry. It is important that the potatoes are dry because excess water causes the oil to splatter. Fry each batch until…

×Take a week’s worth of your household’s wages out of the bank in dollar bills. × Stack the money on the kitchen counter. × With your child’s help, sort out enough moola to cover seven days of your mortgage payment, violin lessons, and other fixed bills. × For the rest of the week, use cash from the counter for all purchases. Let your little one play banker—accepting withdrawals and deposits— each day to track the dwindling pile. ×At the end of the week, count what’s left—and fill out a deposit form for your savings account together. ON THE WEB: Visit 5280.com/outwardbound for a way to teach your kid about compound interest via something she understands: burritos.…

PENNY PICKER-UPPER Young Philanthropists Foundation Each year, students in more than 60 Colorado schools spend three months collecting pennies from friends and family. Once the coins are pooled and counted—nearly $100,000 was gathered in the past school year—local nonprofi ts get the loot. ypfoundation.org TRAILBLAZER Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado Teach your Coloradan how to help with trail renovations on perennial favorites such as Mt. Bierstadt and Quandary Peak (16 years old and up), or plant local gardens to help the less fortunate (6 years old and up). voc.org MODERN DAY CANDY-STRIPER Junior Volunteer Program In a world dominated by white coats and medical procedures, some of the friendliest faces at Children’s Hospital Colorado belong to kids who choose to be there. Students ages 13 to 18 volunteer to cruise the…

FIREFIGHTERS loom large in our collective consciousness; they’re courageous, tenacious, and selfless. But there is a specialized subgroup of firefighters—called “hotshots”—who may hold an even more mythical space in our minds because of the mammoth wildland blazes they combat each summer, mostly in the American West. Part of that reverence may be because we know so little about these public servants. News stories often focus on the dangers the fires present to nearby towns and their residents, but they rarely profile the people who hike miles into the backcountry to battle these unpredictable infernos. To learn more about who these men and women are and why they do what they do, local photographer Aaron Colussi shadowed the Roosevelt Interagency Hotshot Crew, a Fort Collins–based unit, during part of the 2014…

Piece, Love & Chocolate’s Sarah Amorese incorporates the dark sweet into a Sicilian classic. 1 Heat 1 cup avocado oil in a large skillet over mediumhigh heat. Fry 1 pound eggplant (½-inch cubes in batches until browned); transfer to paper towels and set aside. Discard all but 2 tablespoons oil from the skillet. Turn heat to medium. 2 Add half of a small onion and 1 rib celery, both finely chopped. Season with salt, stirring until onions begin to brown. Add 1½ tablespoons tomato paste mixed with 2 tablespoons water; stir-fry until almost evaporated. Add ½ cup crushed tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Turn heat to low; stir in ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar, ¼ cup golden raisins, 2 tablespoons rinsed and drained salt-cured capers, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and…

IF YOUR LIFE is defined by the paleo diet (gluten- and grain-free, heavy on lean meats, fruits and veggies, and healthy fats), then you’re likely already familiar with Golden native Juli Bauer. The 27-year-old is the smart, plucky voice behind paleomg.com, a recipe, fitness, and fashion blog that has nabbed Bauer three cookbook deals since its 2012 launch. Even if you’re a newbie, Bauer’s latest effort, Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook: Over 100 Gluten-Free Recipes to Help You Shine from Within, due out this month from Victory Belt Publishing, is destined to bring you into the fold. We recently sat down with Bauer to get the inside scoop. STICKY SESAME TERIYAKI CHICKEN WINGS (Serves 4) 2 pounds chicken wings and/or drumsticks 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt ½ teaspoon black pepper 2…

THE RAINSBERGERS Lisa Rainsberger A qualifier for the 1980 Olympic trials in the individual medley (swimming), Lisa ultimately made her mark as a distance runner: She won the Boston Marathon in 1985, the last American woman to do so. Katie Rainsberger The 16-year-old nabbed the 2014 4A cross-country state title and claimed victories in the 800-, 1,600-, and 3,200-meter runs at the 2015 state high school track finals. The Colorado Springs native was also named Gatorade’s 2014-15 Colorado Runner of the Year. THE ERBESFIELD-RABOUTOUS Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou A four-time Freeclimbing World Cup champion, Robyn owns ABC Kids Climbing in Boulder, where she has helped develop a new generation of elite climbers—including her own children—over the past 20 years. Didier Raboutou The French national climbing champion retired from professional climbing in 1992,…

2160 S. COOK ST., DENVER, CO 80210 | (303) 758-2003 | ACCELERATEDSCHOOLS.ORG ACCELERATED SCHOOLS is an accredited private school in Denver, Colorado that offers highly accelerated programs for students who are gifted and talented, as well as those who may need remedial help. With an average class size of 7:1, each student is enrolled with an individualized academic plan of instruction, relevant to their individual needs. This allows our students to be prepared for the next level without the need for remediation. At Accelerated Schools, we offer High School, Middle School, and Elementary School classes with open enrollment. Any student may begin classes, any day, year-round. If you find that your child has fallen behind for any reason, we are able to help. Our student-teacher ratio of 7:1 will give…

4400 E. ILIFF AVE., DENVER, CO 80222 | (303) 777-5161 | DENVERACADEMY.ORG STEP ONTO DENVER ACADEMY’S spacious campus and you’ll find an exceptional learning environment. Integrated with state-of-the art technology, the robust curriculum includes challenging academics, a multi-faceted digital and fine arts program, comprehensive athletics, character development, and extra-curricular offerings. Hands-on learning, engaging field trips and cultural experiences enrich each student’s education. It’s only when you look closer that you’ll find what truly makes us extraordinary: a pioneering educational model that is as distinctive as your child. Founded in 1972 on the maxim that students thrive when taught in the way they learn best, Denver Academy is one of the top schools in the nation dedicated to teaching diverse learners. DA’s innovative, proven learning model is based on the balanced…

9056 E. PARKER ROAD, PARKER, CO 80138 | (720) 842-5400 | SCHOOL.AVEMARIACATHOLICPARISH.ORG • Traditional Catholic education for students entering preschool through eighth grade • Core Knowledge curriculum & rigorous academics; ranks in top 15% in schools nationwide in ITBS test scores • Accredited through NCEA/AdvancED, a nationally renowned school evaluation organization • Certified faculty and staff with over 350 years experience • ”State of the Art” technology including Promethean boards, document cameras, laptops, and tablets in the classroom • Tuition assistance and student services available • New Parish Life Center with full gymnasium • Voted “Best of the Best” School in Parker in 2014 • Named Top 100 Workplaces in Colorado by the Denver Post in 2015 Admissions: (720) 842-5400 Grades: Preschool–8th Enrollment: 475 For 2015-16 Student/Faculty Ratio: 14:1 Tuition:…

7203 WEST 120TH AVE., BROOMFIELD, CO 80020 | (303) 469-6449 | BROOMFIELDACADEMY.COM BROOMFIELD ACADEMY IS a nationally accredited high quality independent preschool, elementary and middle school for children ages 2 ½ –14. Enrollment is currently open for full or part-time academic preschool, full-day kindergarten and grades 1–8. In all of its programs, there is a strong focus on learning. The school focuses on academic excellence through the development and implementation of individualized learning goals for each student and a well-rounded and advanced curriculum to help children reach their fullest potential. In addition to a very strong core academic program, the school offers specialty courses to all students in world language (Mandarin Chinese and Spanish), world music, drama, dance, on-site swimming in the schools warm saltwater pool, art, technology and physical…

55 CLERMONT ST., DENVER, CO 80220 | (303) 399-0390 | GRALAND.ORG A GREAT SCHOOL NEVER SITS STILL. Our motto, “Climb Every Mountain,” is a constant reminder to go beyond— beyond our classroom walls, our comfort zones, our imagined limitations. We go to extraordinary lengths to give children the best education possible. At Graland, learning is a joy-filled adventure with dramatic play, community service, creative writing, overnight trips, and our one-of-a-kind inventor’s program. Our goal is to help students go as far as they can – intellectually, athletically, and creatively. Along the way, they become engaged citizens and thoughtful leaders with conscience, passion, and purpose. Visit our website or tour our campus to learn more about our exceptional program and find out why students who GO Graland go further than they…

4000 S. WADSWORTH BLVD., LITTLETON, CO 80123 | (303) 986-4587 | HAVERNSCHOOL.ORG ESTABLISHED IN 1966, Havern School is an independent, coeducational day school located on a beautiful hilltop campus in Littleton. Our mission is to help children with learning disabilities achieve academic confidence and success. Havern School provides a comprehensive curriculum tailored to meet the needs of each child. Tuition includes all of the following: • Intensive, direct, research-based instruction in reading, writing and mathematics • Occupational therapy (as needed) • Speech-Language therapy (as needed) • Social skills classes • Digital classroom/Computer skills instruction • Visual arts, music and drama programs Havern School hosts community previews for parents and professionals from October through April. Watch our website for preview dates, and please join us to see the school in session.…

2700 S. ZUNI ST., ENGLEWOOD, CO 80110 | (303) 783-0137 | HUMANEXACADEMY.COM HUMANEX ACADEMY PROVIDES individualized and differentiated instruction to meet the needs of students regardless of their abilities. Humanex Academy is celebrating over 30 years of excellence in individualized educations for students who struggle in traditional classrooms. Our goal with every student (grades 6-12) is to reawaken the dreams of possibility, to ignite a spark of fun in learning, and to encourage a sense of discovery as each student learns how to work with and around his/her learning, social and emotional needs. Humanex is a fully accredited school, offering high school diplomas and colleges transition services. Students who have struggled in a traditional classroom environment have found success in our individualized curriculum, which includes Fundamental, Core, and Honors classes.…

206 RED CROSS WAY, DENVER, CO 80230 | (303) 340-3647 | ISDENVER.ORG INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF DENVER (ISD), formerly Denver Montclair International School (DMIS), is the oldest international school in the Rocky Mountain region. ISD is an independent school offering full-immersion, bilingual education in French, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish to students ages 3 through 5th grade. The middle school is an International Baccalaureate implementing the Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) in grades 6, 7 and 8. ISD offers need-based financial assistance and also partners with ACE Scholarships and the MaggieGeorge Foundation to offer additional financial assistance to our families. Our school was recently ranked as one of the top four elementary Spanish language-immersion schools in North America by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. ISD is currently enrolling for…

4000 EAST QUINCY AVE., ENGLEWOOD, CO 80113 | (303) 770-7660 | KENTDENVER.ORG KENT DENVER SCHOOL HAS world-class teachers, a wide range of AP and honors classes, and numerous National Merit Scholars. We regularly earn state championships in sports as well as national recognition for speech and debate, math, music ensembles, robotics, student publications, visual arts, and more. But what makes Kent Denver truly extraordinary is our vibrant and engaging community. We provide a fun and inclusive learning environment that encourages students to build a lifelong curiosity and a generosity of spirit. Our students share a commitment to each other, to Kent Denver, to their individual pursuits, and to improving the world around them. All members of the Kent Denver community—students, faculty, staff, parents, administrators— embrace the school’s core values: Integrity,…

1005 YOSEMITE ST., DENVER, CO 80230 | (303) 340-2444 | THELOGANSCHOOL.ORG THE LOGAN SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE LEARNING is an independent school for gifted children of all backgrounds, ages 4½ – 14, who are exceptionally inquisitive. For over 25 years, Logan has fostered a love for lifelong learning by providing an individualized, experience-based education that allows students to develop to their full potential. Rather than ticking off a curriculum checklist, students apply knowledge and skills in realworld contexts that truly inspire them. Research, reasoning, and recording are the tools for learning essential skills such as reading, writing, math, and science. Students and teachers work together, as co-architects to design curriculum to each student’s unique readiness level, learning style, academic interests and passions. Exploring outside the classroom is vital in learning to…

LINDSEY R. MCKISSICK Toddlers explore their surroundings in a hands-on manner to learn about new things. But once kids are old enough to enter the classroom, teachers tend to turn to lectures instead of participatory learning. This issue’s kid-centric feature (“Outward Bound,” page 124) gets youngsters back to the former, more enjoyable form of instruction. “When you extend the idea of education outside the traditional classroom, kids gravitate to teachable moments organically,” says assistant editor Lindsey R. McKissick, who oversaw the package. “It’s more interesting to learn about anything when it’s paired with a tangible experience.” AARON COLUSSI To prove he was fit enough to shadow a hotshot firefighter crew during fire season (“Into The Fire,” page 132), freelance photographer Aaron Colussi joined U.S. Forest Service staff for a 12-mile…

Johnson & Wales University has a reputation for being a party school. That’s not to say its keggers are epic (though they might be–we just haven’t been invited). Rather, the national university with four locations (including Denver) is known for producing students who know how to throw a good bash: namely, hospitality workers. But like most reps earned at college, this one’s a little misleading. “We’re not just a culinary school, as often we’re referred to,” says spokeswoman Holli Keyser. Over the past two years, JWU has rolled out a slew of nonhospitality degrees, such as an MBA program, with more on the way. To show it’s serious about the new studies, the northeast Denver JWU campus will house many of these programs in the recently renovated Centennial Hall. Previously…

RESUMÉ NAME: Stephen Grace AGE: 43 OCCUPATION: Author WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT THE STATE’S WATER SUPPLY (ASIDE FROM YOUR DESIRE TO REMAIN ALIVE): “Good beer starts with good water. A water crisis is a beer crisis.” Early in the book, you mention the “illusion of profusion.” Is that what The Great Divide hopes to dispel? Oh sure. There’s a wonderful film by Kirk Klancke, president of the Colorado River Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited. He goes out on the 16th Street Mall and asks people where their water comes from. Nine out of 10 say the faucet—and they’re not kidding. It’s immensely complicated getting water to our faucets. And there are repercussions to how we use water. What are those repercussions? Most of [Colorado’s] population lives on the Front…

The moral of Megan Feldman Bettencourt’s first book—forgiveness is good!—is as old as the Bible (or the New Testament portion, at least). But it’s difficult to believe there’s ever been a more in-depth investigation into why. Feldman Bettencourt, a 5280 contributor who lives in Denver, traveled to 10 cities and towns around the globe to research compelling instances of forgiveness, from the father of a murdered son in San Diego to a survivor of genocide in Rwanda. Each example is backed up by forays into the science behind exoneration (forgiveness may be evolutionarily hardwired into our systems). The most compelling narrative, however, is the author’s own. Her journey to overcome heartbreak and life’s disillusionments, a personal account that knits the pages together, is both poignant and relatable. If it reads…

“In 1965, Denver’s AM-950 and its rock ‘n’ roll ruled the ratings, with AM-560 a few points behind. So 560 hatched an unthinkable but brilliant plan: Put rock ‘n’ roll on FM. Back then, no one believed you needed the quality of FM for anything other than classical. But 560 figured if its new, better-sounding FM station, 106.7, could steal a few listeners from 950, its AM station might claim the top position. At first, none of the record companies would send us their promotional 45s, so we bought the top 25 or so hits. My record collection made up most of the rest of our library. At 4 p.m. on August 4, 1965, with the Beach Boys’ “California Girls,” 106.7 became the country’s first FM station to play rock…

IN COLORADO, GETTING “R & R” MEANS something more—rest, relaxation…and ranches. In 2012, the most recent year for which figures were available, Colorado was fourth in the country for agritourism revenue (from corn mazes to vineyard tours) with $28 million. Expect that to climb as more operations target the latest trend: farm stays, where guests pay to overnight and help out around the homestead in exchange for good grub, reconnecting with the land, and stellar scenery. Here, three places to catch up on your “R & R & R.” GETTING YOUR GOAT AVALANCHE FARM AND DAIRY | PAONIA Set among the pasturelands of the North Fork Valley, Avalanche Cheese Company’s 130-acre dairy farm is home to close to 600 goats, three llamas, and 200 chickens. That presents plenty of chances…

Vail is the hostess with the mostest. In February the luxe mountain town hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships; in March it was the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships. And this month (August 10 to 16), Vail welcomes the world’s top teen anglers for the FIPS Mouche World Youth Fly Fishing Championship, the event’s first-ever U.S. stop. The five-member teams—hailing from as far away as France and South Africa—will cast into the upper and lower Eagle River, Colorado River, Dillon Reservoir, and Sylvan Lake. Each angler has a three-hour block at each location to catch as many wild trout as possible. The scoring is simple: Whoever catches the most fish and the biggest fish wins. The U.S. youth team won the last two world championships, in Ireland and Poland.…

WITH ALL THE GLUTEN-FREE ITEMS on the market these days, it’d be easy to think that almost everyone you encounter has a problem digesting her morning toast. The thing is, celiac disease—a genetic autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestines and prevents absorption of nutrients from food—really is pretty common. About 2.4 million Americans, or about one in every 133 people, have the disorder. In fact, the incidence of the disease—triggered by ingestion of the protein gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, and rye—has increased four-fold in the past 50 years. Greater awareness and improved testing methods cannot fully account for the explosion, leaving researchers scratching their heads. “What we do know,” says Dr. Edwin Liu, director of the 14-monthold Colorado Center for Celiac Disease (CCCD) at Children’s Hospital…

The number of ongoing clinical trials for melanoma at the Cutaneous Oncology Clinic at the Anschutz Cancer Pavilion. National numbers suggest the lifetime risk for Americans of getting melanoma—a deadly form of skin cancer—is about 1 in 50. In Colorado, where a high UV index and an outdoorsy population increase sun exposure, the chances are even higher. Which is why Dr. Karl Lewis, a medical oncologist, is researching new ways to battle a disease that, until recently, had zero treatments that extended life expectancy. Fortunately, that’s not the case any longer. In the past halfdecade, scientists have learned that about half of melanoma patients have a mutation in their cancers called BRAF, which can be treated with drugs approved in 2011 and ’13. Scientists also have made progress using immunotherapy,…

SOCIAL MEDIA HYPE might make you think marijuana legalization has resulted in a spike in ER visits in Colorado. After all, the state’s foray into recreational sales means that easy access to the drug has folks trying novel delivery methods, like weed-spiked hard candy. It also means pot rookies who don’t know what they’re doing—or kids, who shouldn’t be partaking at all—might get into something best avoided. The medical reality surrounding recreational marijuana—particularly edibles—is far more complex than those 140-character depictions on Twitter. Although ER personnel say they have witnessed an uptick in marijuana-related visits, no one—not the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, nor any local hospitals—has determined the exact numbers statewide. The ER at Children’s Hospital Colorado, which deals mostly with patients under 21, saw 14 marijuana-related…

CLINICAL TRIAL READY TO FEEL BETTER about humanity? In what could easily be considered the most feelgood clinical trial going on in the state right now, healthy women who are pregnant or breast-feeding a newborn are taking time out of their busy lives to help the 13,000 to 14,000 U.S. women who are diagnosed with pregnancyassociated breast cancer each year. The research, directed by Dr. Virginia Borges at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, focuses on how scientists might prevent pregnancy-associated breast cancer—an unusually aggressive and deadly iteration of the disease—by studying postpartum breast involution. Involution is the process by which the breast regresses to a non-milk-secreting state and is known to make breast tumors worse. “We know involution moves cancer along,” Borges says, “but we’ve only seen it in…

WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE: sore throat, fever, headache. All we want from the doctor is a script for some antibiotics, but he won’t write one without a throat swab. His reason: Using an antibiotic when one isn’t necessary results in drug-resistant bacteria. In that moment, it feels like the doc is torturing you, but he might be doing humanity a serious favor. “Over the past handful of years, I’ve noticed my antibiotic armamentarium has been decreasing by the day,” says Dr. Connie Price, chief medical officer and infectious disease physician at Denver Health. “Bacteria are figuring out ways to render our antibiotics useless.” That’s not good news for anyone, but it’s a particularly nasty threat for vulnerable populations, such as those in hospitals or longterm-care facilities, places where a class…

CLINICAL TRIAL DR. HUNTINGTON POTTER could talk about the brain and dementia for long enough to stage a filibuster. After all, the director of the Rocky Mountain Alzheimer’s Disease Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has spent 20 years propelling our understanding of the neurodegenerative disease forward in an endeavor to reach a cure for 5.3 million Americans—a number that’s expected to more than triple in the next 35 years. Potter’s most recent effort is based on a well-known piece of information in the Alzheimer’s research community: People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) rarely develop Alzheimer’s disease. Potter, along with colleague Dr. Tim Boyd, found that a specific protein (called granulocytemacrophage colony-stimulating factor, GM-CSF) protects those with RA from developing dementia by telling certain cells to chew up…

WHY DIDN’T YOU CHOOSE MY DOCTOR? A We don’t pick the docs—Denver physicians do. For the past 22 years, 5280 has surveyed doctors and asked them, specialty by specialty, which metro-area physicians they would trust to treat themselves and their families. Our theory is that medical professionals are best qualified to judge other medical professionals. The ballot is posted online at 5280.com from mid-January to mid-March each year. Every metro-area doctor with a valid Colorado medical license can fill it out. Once the doctor hits “save,” the votes are entered into our database and tallied. SO DOESN’T THAT MAKE IT A BIG POPULARITY CONTEST? A In many respects, yes. We hope that doctors give us careful, responsible answers, but there’s little we can do to stop them from recommending their…

THE ROUTE The folks at the Colorado Mountain Club in Golden suggest this 3.3-mile do-it-yourself loop. Hike southeast from the North Table Loop trailhead (two miles north of downtown Golden on State Highway 93) for 0.6 miles until you reach the Tilting Mesa Trail. Continue 0.9 miles before connecting to the 0.9-mile Mesa Top Trail. Then it’s all downhill as you swing back on the North Table Loop Trail for 0.9 miles to the parking lot. THE SEARCH I Spy...Tectonic Activity Look west at any point on the hike to spot the Dakota Hogback, an elongated, elevated formation that was created when the ground lifted during the late Cretaceous Period. (It still sits on an active fault line.) I Spy...Basalt Four lava flows, created about 63 million years ago, left…

1 Pack a set of PJs instead of extra clothes. They are infinitely more comfortable and easy to squash into a backpack, and people love seeing kids running around in jammies at any time of the day. 2 Bring a lightweight, hands-free baby carrier, such as the Boba 4G Carrier, instead of a stroller. It’s easier to carry your kid kangaroostyle and let her walk when she wants than to haul around a four-wheeled anchor. (Plus, you can often rent a stroller at your destination.) 3 Skip the suitcase of stuffed animals in favor of lightweight coloring books and paperbacks, and scavenge for toys when you get to your destination. Paper plates can become art canvases. Solo cups help mold sand castles. Or let the kids play dress up with…

THE NICKEL 1100 14th St. 720-889-2128 hotelteatro.com/the-nickel For more on our ratings, visit 5280.com/ratings. THE DRAW Charcuterie, locally sourced cocktails, a deft mix of meat and vegetable cookery, and a winning lunch. THE DRAWBACK Inconsistency: Meals rarely shine throughout every course. DON’T MISS House-made potted fish and meats; the whole charcuterie experience; juicy Duroc pork chop; lovely half rotisserie chicken; monkey bread; barrel-aged cocktails DETAILS Starters and salads, $5 to $17; entrées, $18 to $34. Valet parking available. Daily breakfast in the Study, 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.; weekend brunch, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; weekday lunch, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m. AT SOME POINT in the past century, American hotel restaurants lost much…

When the Infinite Monkey Theorem started its brunch series this past spring, the urban winery knew it would need a great a.m. drink. Enter the frozen peach Bellini, a sprightly blend of Palisade peach juice and the winery’s Riesling. The icy concoction pours thick and rosy and is only available when the weather is warm. The not-too-sweet drink is just the thing for cooling off on the sunny patio. Bonus: The Bellini is served all day, so you can have this refreshing treat on hot summer nights, too. 3200 Larimer St., 303-736-8376, theinfinitemonkeytheorem.com…

Symbol Guide NEW Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). 25 BEST Indicates inclusion in our annual list of Denver’s best restaurants released each October. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and critics and are subject to change. BEST NEW Indicates inclusion in our annual list of Denver’s best new restaurants released each March. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and critics and are subject to change. THE DOLLAR SYMBOLS included in each listing indicate how much you can expect to pay for an average dinner entrée: $ Average entrée under $10. $$ Average entrée $11–$15. $$$ Average entrée $16–$25. $$$$ Average entrée $26 and higher. A THE 9TH DOOR $$ DOWNTOWN…

Accelerated Schools of Denver 2160 S. Cook St. Denver, CO 80210 ADMISSIONS: (303) 758-2003 acceleratedschools.org SPECIALTY: Accelerated programs, providing a unique and alternative approach to learning. GRADES/AGES: 1 to 12 For full profile, see page 7 Arrupe Jesuite High School 4343 Utica St. Denver, CO 80212 ADMISSIONS: (303) 455-7449, x 245 arrupejesuit.com SPECIALTY: Roman Catholic, co-ed. GRADES/AGES: 9 to 12 Aspen Academy** 5859 S. University Blvd. Greenwood Village, CO 80121 ADMISSIONS: (303) 346-3500, x 108 aspenacademy.org SPECIALTY: Academic rigor; entrepreneurial leadership; service learning. GRADES/AGES: Pre-K to 8 For full profile, see page 9 Ave Maria Catholic School 9056 E. Parker Road Parker, CO 80138 ADMISSIONS: (720) 842-5400 school.avemariacatholicparish.org SPECIALTY: Co-ed, Roman Catholic. GRADES/AGES: Pre-K to 8 For full profile, see page 16 Beacon Country Day School 6100 East Belleview Ave.…

6155 FOUNTAIN VALLEY SCHOOL ROAD, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80911 | (719) 391-5251 | FVS.EDU “EACH OF YOU IS IN A POSITION TO WRITE YOUR OWN HISTORY,” founding Headmaster Froelicher told students at Fountain Valley School’s opening day in 1930. This same spirit of challenge, unbounded opportunity and responsibility defines FVS today. FVS has an extraordinarily broad program: AP and honors courses in every discipline, and experiential programs unique to the School such as the Western Immersion Program and Interim. The accomplished faculty understands, respects and nurtures young minds. With an average class size of 12, they have the opportunity to challenge students to push the limits of their potential. FVS emphasizes global education and experiences, and is a member of Round Square, a worldwide network of more than 100 schools…

458 UINTA WAY, DENVER, CO 80230 | (303) 344-0082 | MACHEBEUF.ORG BISHOP MACHEBEUF HIGH SCHOOL IS a coeducational, college-preparatory high school located on an 11-acre campus in the vibrant Lowry development. Founded in 1958, Machebeuf is named after Bishop Joseph P. Machebeuf, the first Bishop of Colorado. • 57 di. erent middle schools are represented, including 21 grade schools within the Archdiocese of Denver. • $1.1 million in scholarships and financial aid were given last year to our Machebeuf families. • The Cardinal Newman Society has recognized Machebeuf for its strong Catholic identity and academic excellence on the Top 50 Catholic Education Honor Roll. • Over 70% of our students participate in our regionally recognized athletic programs. • 95% of our graduates are accepted to colleges and universities nationwide. •…

CHERRY HILLS CHRISTIAN just celebrated 30 years of giving students in preschool through middle school a unique blend of quality academics incorporating a Christian worldview with character education and a strong emphasis on service. The HEART of Cherry Hills Christian is to educate the whole child, nurturing the SOUL of each student. We believe God created each child as His divine masterpiece, capable as learners and uniquely gifted for His purpose. Truth and knowledge are taught through a distinctly Biblical perspective and worldview. Academics at CHC are dynamic: ever-evolving and improving. Student MINDS benefit from small class sizes and integrated technology including iPads for every student in grades 1-8. CHC is fully accredited, our teachers are licensed and Apple recently named us one of their Distinguished Schools. CHC students gain…