🚨 Boulder County farmers are sounding the alarm about this summer

Good Wednesday morning, Boulder.

Leading today: After one of Colorado’s driest winters on record, Boulder County farmers are cutting acreage, CSA programs and staff as drought reshapes the growing season. Recent rains brought some relief, but many growers say they came too late to change summer plans. Shoppers will still find local produce at markets this year — just less of it, and with fewer water-intensive staples. Gabe Toth reports.

“There just isn’t any water,” Black Cat Farm’s Eric Skokan told Toth. “It’s not that divvying up the pie is the unfair part of it. It’s that the pie is minuscule this year.”

Also today: A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s first major move to dismantle Boulder-based NCAR, signaling the broader effort may face serious legal trouble. Brooke Stephenson reports. In BRL Opinion, contributor Simon Testa revisits risk and normalization in Boulder’s Flatirons culture following the death of 33-year-old climber Ryan Kelly, the 18th known unroped climbing fatality in the Flatirons since 1922, with 10 occurring since 2002.

If you missed yesterday’s Nibbles, John Lehndorff tells the story of the Jamestown Mercantile Cafe — the beloved 130-year-old mountain gathering place now at the center of a community effort to save it.

Plus more, Below the Fold:

Weather: Thunderstorms today, summer heat by Friday.
Pride: Boulder leaders warn of new LGBTQ rights threats.
Arts: Plein air painters take over the farmers market.
Pickleball: Boulder’s first indoor courts are shutting down.
Politics: Boulder testing voter appetite for new taxes.
Traffic: Major closure hits the Diagonal/Highway 52 junction.

Thanks, as always, for reading,

– The BRL team

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Rachel Friend is an attorney and former Boulder Mayor Pro Tem running for Boulder County Treasurer. For the past decade, Friend has championed affordability, transparency, and responsible fiscal stewardship in local government. She is endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, DA Michael Dougherty, Mayor Aaron Brockett, Senator Judy Amabile and many other local leaders. Learn more at friendfortreasurer.com.

Boulder County farmers scale back crops, CSAs and staffing as drought reshapes the growing season

Recent rains brought some relief, but many Boulder County growers say severe drought had already forced difficult decisions about acreage, staffing and water-intensive crops. Continue reading…

Federal judge blocks Trump administration’s first move to break up Boulder-based NCAR

The injunction will remain in place while the case proceeds through the courts. In his opinion, Judge Jackson signaled the Trump administration is likely to lose the broader lawsuit over the breakup of NCAR. Continue reading…

Spotty storms today before Boulder’s first 90-degree weekend arrives

There’s a 30% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms today, mainly between noon and 3 p.m., with partly sunny skies and a high near 83. Conditions should clear overnight, with lows around 57.

The National Weather Service says severe weather is possible on the plains, where storms could bring hail, damaging winds, heavy rain and isolated tornadoes.

Thursday looks mostly sunny with a high near 87 and just a slight chance of afternoon storms. Summer heat arrives in force Friday, when Boulder is expected to hit 90 degrees for the first time this year under sunny skies.

Boulder raises Pride flag amid growing fights over LGBTQ rights

Boulder officials and community members gathered this week on the Pearl Street Mall to raise a Pride flag on the first day of Pride Month, using the occasion in part as a call to action against threats to LGBTQ rights at the ballot box and in the courts.

The celebration came as two Colorado measures are set to appear on the ballot this year that would restrict the rights of transgender children. One would prevent them from receiving gender-affirming surgeries, and the other would prohibit them from playing in school sports.

Additionally, Mardi Moore, CEO of Rocky Mountain Equality, flagged an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, which centers on whether Colorado preschools can participate in the state’s publicly funded preschool program if those schools reject children of same-sex couples. She said the case keeps her up at night.

“We have much to do,” Moore said. “There’s much for you to do with us. We will do work with you. Happy Pride.” Read on BRL.

50 Colorado artists to paint live at Boulder County Farmers Market

Catch 50 Colorado-based artists painting in the open air at the Boulder County Farmers Market today, Wednesday, June 3, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event is one of two mandatory live paint-outs as part of Open Studios’ weeklong Plein Air Community Event, where artists from across Colorado paint outdoors. Finished paintings from the event will be displayed in an exhibition at Park Coworking through the end of July.

Community members are invited to the exhibit opening Friday, June 6, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. All finished work created on-site over six days will be available for purchase.

Learn more about Open Studios and its long-running Plein Air Community Event and exhibit in the coming weeks when we launch the BRL Culture Club. Stay tuned!

Boulder’s first dedicated indoor pickleball facility to close June 30

Boulder Pickleball, the city’s first dedicated indoor pickleball facility, announced Monday that it will close June 30 and will not renew its lease at 3550 Frontier Ave., Unit C.

The business cited uncertainty surrounding the future of the warehouse property near Foothills Parkway and Pearl Street, an unusually warm winter that reduced indoor demand and broader market changes.

When Boulder Pickleball opened in 2023, it arrived amid exploding local demand for the fast-growing sport. The 19,000-square-foot facility launched with five courts, lessons, clinics and a waitlist for instruction at a time when Boulder had no dedicated public pickleball courts and limited indoor options.

The closure comes as Boulder moves forward with a new 12-court public pickleball complex near Boulder Reservoir — part of a broader city effort to expand racquet sports access as pickleball participation continues to surge across the region. Louisville’s Relish Food Hall // Pickleball also recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.

Boulder voters may get survey calls on possible 2026 tax measures

Boulder voters may soon receive calls, texts or emails from a national polling firm as the city gauges support for possible 2026 ballot measures, including a proposed vacant home tax and potential property tax increases.

The city said it is working with Probolsky Research on a randomized survey to better understand community opinions ahead of this fall’s election planning process. The survey will be offered in English and Spanish.

City council last month directed staff to begin developing several possible ballot measures, including a tax on homes left vacant for more than half the year, expanded funding options for parks and recreation, and broader restructuring of existing city tax funds.

Full closure begins this week at Colorado highways 52 and 119 junction

A stretch of Colorado Highway 52 between 71st Street and Colorado Highway 119/Diagonal Highway will be fully closed through June 6 as part of the CO 119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Improvements Project.

The closure will allow crews to connect Highway 52 to Highway 119 and switch railroad crossing signals as part of a new road alignment. Drivers should detour via U.S. 287, Ken Pratt Boulevard or Colorado 7. Cyclists should also use alternate routes.

Commentaries are opinion pieces from community members and newsmakers. They reflect the views of the authors, not Boulder Reporting Lab. Want to submit one? Here’s how.

Simon Testa: Boulder’s Flatirons culture can blur the reality of risk

How solo climbing became normalized in Boulder, and how familiarity can distort perceptions of danger and consequence. Continue reading…

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