Dental Implants Near Boulder, CO

Hundreds of female faculty members at the University of Colorado Boulder will receive backpay as part of a $4.5 million settlement stemming from a class action gender equity lawsuit.

Under the settlement, CU Boulder will pay 386 female faculty members back pay and will agree to conduct follow-up equity reviews every three years. The university also agreed to make wages of current faculty and job applicants available to the public in the future.

“On behalf of the class representatives, I can report that we are pleased that this matter has been resolved,” said lead plaintiff, mechanical engineer and professor, Shelly Miller. “The plaintiff class has worked hard to ensure that the settlement includes periodic equity reviews and wage transparency. This is a critical part of the settlement and will help reduce or eliminate pay disparities between female and male UCB faculty members going forward.”

Chancellor Justin Schwartz signed the agreement released Thursday. As part of the settlement, the university denies each allegation of wrongdoing, liability and damages and consented to the settlement “solely to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and inherent risk of litigation as well as continued disruption of its business operations.”

Alongside the $4.5 million in backpay, CU must pay $1.1 million in attorney’s fees.

The class action lawsuit was filed in Denver district court simultaneously with the settlement for a judge to certify the class action nature of the suit and formally approve the settlement. The two sides carried out two mediations, one last year and one this year.

“CU Boulder is committed to providing fair and equitable wages to all employees across all disciplines,” said university spokesperson Nicole Mueksch. “As part of its continuous commitment to salary equity, the university will ensure academic units maintain salary equity among faculty members, maintain transparency in faculty salaries and conduct a campus-wide salary equity analysis every three years.”

For each faculty member, the backpay alone ranged between hundreds of dollars to nearly $50,000 for some faculty members across disciplines, including world-class scientists and scholars.

“They're in a very impressive group of female professors,” said Madeline Collison, an attorney with Benezra & Culver PC, a Denver-based employment and civil rights law firm. “They're very brave for coming together to do this given that they're existing employees, the risk of retaliation obviously is of concern. But there's strength in numbers.”

The group of faculty women included the current chair of the Boulder Faculty Assembly, a Fulbright Scholar, multiple National Science Foundation award winners, multiple National Academy of Science award winners, a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship winner, and numerous other distinguished faculty.

The suit alleged the discrimination was based on gender in violation of the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, passed by Colorado lawmakers in 2019, as well as the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The lawsuit asserted that CU Boulder conducted an equity review in 2021 and determined that 386 female-identifying faculty members were being paid less than similarly situated male faculty members. Although CU paid the female faculty raises, the school failed to pay backpay, a remedy that is legally required under federal and state law, according to lawyers.

The intention behind Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021, was to close the gender pay gap by making sure employees with similar job duties are paid the same regardless of sex. Collison said it doesn't require proof of intent and it also narrows the types of defense employers can use for why they are paying females less for similar work.

“The (law) is a game changer,” said one of the plaintiff’s attorneys Seth Benezra. “The statute addresses and closes loopholes that exist in other federal and state statutes prohibiting gender-based wage discrimination. It requires private and public employers to review their pay practices to ensure gender equity and it requires wage transparency.”

He said the University of Colorado at Boulder is to be commended for taking the case seriously and implementing meaningful changes. One of the plaintiffs’ goals in bringing the lawsuit was to bring an end to gender-based wage disparities at CU Boulder.

English professor Katie Little said it was not easy for the faculty to come forward publicly, but the faculty said it was necessary.

“Only in pursuing this action could we draw attention to the fact that women’s concerns about pay discrimination have been dismissed or ignored and now need to be addressed,” she said.

Little said the settlement is a step toward a future where equity is not just a word but a commitment to action.

Attorneys and plaintiffs said they hope other Colorado institutions of higher education will follow CU’s lead by conducting an equity analysis, instituting wage transparency and addressing gender-based wage disparities that exist.

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The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, which regulates oil and gas development statewide, ran out of time to complete deliberations on the proposed Draco Pad during a public meeting on Nov. 13. The agenda was prolonged by presentations and questioning, requiring the commission to schedule additional time for a decision.

The controversial Extraction Oil & Gas project proposes drilling 26 horizontal wells using fracking beneath Erie, with wellbores extending into Boulder County. If approved, it would mark the first fracking activity beneath the county in over a decade. While Weld County has already greenlit the project, Boulder County lacks authority over the site, as the well pad lies outside its jurisdiction.

Final approval now rests with the state energy commission, with deliberations set to resume on Friday, Nov. 15, at 9 a.m., available via livestream.

The project has sparked strong opposition and led to grassroots organizing, largely because of its proximity to homes, including within 2,000 feet of Erie’s Westerly neighborhood. Additional concerns include wellbores reaching 8,000 feet deep and extending five miles west, with up to 2.5 miles crossing into Boulder County. Erie Protectors, a group opposing the project, said Colorado has never seen drilling of this length.

About 20 people, mostly residents, spoke before the commission at the Nov. 13 hearing, while around 400 others submitted written comments. Nearly all speakers opposed the project, urging commissioners to intervene due to health concerns over air and water pollution, high water use, potential interactions with Erie’s legacy wells and impacts on property values. Peer-reviewed research links living near fracking sites to elevated health risks, including respiratory issues like asthma, increased odds of preterm births and low birth weights and greater cancer risks in children exposed to toxins like benzene.

The hearing also included presentations from Weld County Oil and Gas, which approved the proposal in February; Southern Land, the developer of Erie’s Westerly neighborhood; and Extraction Oil & Gas, which requires commission approval to build the Draco Pad. All parties faced extensive questioning from commissioners, who pressed them on the drilling schedule, proposed safety measures, existing development plans, Extraction’s experience with similar projects and the permit approval process.

Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann was among the public commenters, warning that the Draco Pad could worsen air quality in the Front Range. County research shows that oil and gas emissions are the largest single contributor to the county’s ground-level ozone, which is linked to respiratory issues, heart attacks and strokes. She also raised concerns about Draco’s wellbores potentially interacting with a legacy well in Boulder County, which could cause a spill.

“We’re extremely concerned that the Draco wellbores could interact with the improperly plugged Prince well and cause gas or fluid leaks,” Stolzmann said. The Prince well, plugged decades ago before current regulations, has leaked in the past. If Draco is approved, she urged the commissioners to require Extraction to properly plug the well.

This process has highlighted the limited authority municipal governments have in approving new oil and gas developments. Even though the Draco Pad is within 2,000 feet of some homes in its Westerly neighborhood, the Town of Erie — which has its own rule requiring wells to be at least 2,000 feet from homes — has limited power, with Weld County and the state commission holding most of the control.

Erie has been negotiating with Extraction and Westerly’s developer, Southern Land, to limit the pad’s impact on residents. Southern Land has agreed to withhold issuing certificates of occupancy for the 77 planned homes within 2,000 feet of the Draco Pad for three years, and Extraction has agreed to complete drilling operations within a similar time frame.

Por JaijongkitCommunity Reporting Fellow – Summer 2024

Por Jaijongkit is a 2024 Summer Community Reporting Fellow for Boulder Reporting Lab. She recently graduated from CU Boulder with a master's degree in journalism and is interested in writing about the environment and exploring local stories. When not working on some form of writing, Por is either looking for Thai food or petting a cat. More by Por Jaijongkit

Sometimes, you feel like whipping up a scratch-made feast in the kitchen. Other times, not so much.

And that’s OK. If you’re not in the mood to go grocery shopping, dirty your dishes and spend hours over a hot stove, we’ve got you covered. Here’s where to order or eat out on Thanksgiving in Boulder and the surrounding area.

Urban Field: Urban Field is offering turkey dinners for $27.95 per person, including ½-pound of turkey breast, gravy, classic stuffing, cranberry sauce, herb-buttered Brussels sprouts, carrots and garlic mashed potatoes. Get your order in by November 24 for pickup in Longmont or Loveland on November 27.

The Kitchen: The Kitchen offers build-your-own Thanksgiving meals that you can reheat at your home. Choose between a wide variety of seasonal dishes, like an autumn pot pie ($36.50), roasted leek & mushroom dressing ($26.50), a whole turkey that’s been brined and par-cooked and feeds eight to 10 people ($150.50) and more. Place your order by November 24 for pickup from the Boulder or Denver location on November 27. The restaurants are also open for dine-in on Thanksgiving Day.

Dish Gourmet: Dish Gourmet can accommodate two to 40 guests with a full Thanksgiving meal. All you have to do is follow the instructions to reheat everything. Meals include turkey, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce and gravy, as well as sides like butternut squash soup, caramelized onion Brussels sprouts, roasted vegetables, stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with pomegranate and kale salad. Vegan and vegetarian options are also available. You can also add on pies from Shamane’s Bake Shoppe, including pumpkin, chocolate pecan, apple and cherry. Place your order by November 15 for pickup on November 27.

Aunt Alice’s Kitchen: Make life easy on yourself and order from Aunt Alice’s Kitchen in Longmont. The long-standing restaurant is offering pies and turkey dinners for pick-up; if you’d rather dine-in, they’re open until 2 pm and serving breakfast all day. Place your order by November 24.

The Niche Market: Enjoy carved turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, gravy, a roll and a slice of pumpkin pie from the Niche Market. You can also order pies and quickies. All proceeds benefit Meals on Wheels of Boulder. Place your order by November 15 for pickup at the Niche Market or the Eat Well Cafe on November 27.

Where to Dine Out on Thanksgiving in Boulder

St Julien Hotel & Spa: St Julien Hotel & Spa is once again hosting its annual Thanksgiving brunch buffet with live jazz ($109 for adults, $45 for kids 4-12). Enjoy eggs, breakfast meats, salad, a seafood bar; a carving station with organic roasted turkey, herb-crusted prime rib and Verlasso salmon, traditional Thanksgiving sides and desserts.

Jill’s Restaurant: Also located at the St Julien, Jill’s Restaurant is doing its own three-course Thanksgiving dinner ($89 for adults, $45 for kids 4-12). Dishes include roasted cauliflower soup, kale and apple salad, oven-roasted turkey, pistachio-crusted branzino, braised Colorado short beef rib, vegan sweet potato tart,a dessert bar with pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie, flourless chocolate cake and carrot cake.

Boulder Cork: Once again, Boulder Cork is offering a delicious Thanksgiving feast. Enjoy a la carte dishes like shrimp cocktail, butternut squash soup, prime rib, salmon, sea scallops, lobster mac & cheese and more.

Bramble and Hare: Bramble and Hare is continuing its tradition of bringing people together on Thanksgiving. For $105 per person, enjoy favorites like turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted root vegetables, greens, cranberry sauce, pecan pie and pumpkin pie.

The Greenbriar Inn: The Greenbriar Inn is offering its annual Thanksgiving buffet ($89 for adults, $42 for kids 4-12). Feast on soul-warming bites like turkey, prime rib, salmon, acorn squash risotto, herb stuffing, maple-glazed sweet potatoes with candied pecans and so much more. And be sure to save room for dessert, with options ranging from opera cake to pumpkin pie and more.

Hotel Boulderado: Thanksgiving at the Hotel Boulderado is a bit like a choose-your-own-adventure book. They’re doing brunch and dinner at Spruce Farm & Fish, lunch and dinner at The Corner Bar and a mezzanine holiday buffet. Pick whichever one works best for your family—or, if you’re hungry, try all three!

The Passenger: Longmont’s The Passenger is offering a prix fixe menu with optional add-ons and a kids’ menu on Thanksgiving. You can enjoy a classic feast—with turkey, whipped potatoes, sweet potatoes, deconstructed casserole and pumpkin bread pudding—or go for a fully vegan dinner, featuring miso-glazed eggplant with angel hair pasta.

Founded by CU Boulder Professor Larry Gold in 2000, SomaLogic revolutionized protein measurement by developing a faster, cost-effective process to monitor the vast number of proteins in the human body. Gold’s discoveries and work at CU Boulder ultimately led to the creation of three spinout companies and a significant impact on global healthcare research and diagnostics.

Like most groundbreaking biotechnology companies, SomaLogic formed around a problem to solve—how to precisely measure the huge number of proteins in the human body. In 2000, when Larry Gold founded the company, measuring proteins was a time-consuming, costly and flawed process reliant on antibodies which are often not specific or sensitive enough detection tools.

Gold, who began teaching in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology (MCDB) department in 1970 (and served as its chair from 1988 to 1992), set out to do what no one else in the world was doing at the time—measure proteins more simply, cheaply and quickly. “My whole career at CU in MCDB, for 50 plus years, I have cared about measuring proteins,” said Gold.

Measuring proteins is so important because they’re the building blocks of life. The human body has at least 20,000 different proteins—and many more variants—working together in a complicated choreography. For example, collagen is a protein that structures skin, bones and teeth, while hemoglobin carries oxygen in blood. Proteins are also key to a well-functioning immune system, catalyze reactions in the body, and function as critical messengers within and between cells.

The ability to identify and count proteins is essential to biomedical research. Quantifying protein concentrations can help measure the presence and progression of diseases like cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Proteins are also often the targets of therapeutics—like aspirin for a headache—because of all the biochemical processes they carry out and their ability to intervene in pathologies with high specificity.

At the start, Gold’s lab could measure roughly 70 proteins by working long hours and sticking with the process despite occasional setbacks. For decades, said Gold, “From morning to night, seven days a week, oftentimes all night, I pipetted the same experiment thousands of times,” he said. “I don’t get bored doing the same thing over and over as long as we’re learning stuff—and we were.”

Gold said advancing their knowledge of proteins little by little while enjoying the camaraderie of life in the lab made long hours and ‘failed’ experiments tolerable, even enjoyable. “You can’t get upset when an experiment doesn't work, it’s a continuing, iterative process,” he said. “And I was doing it with good people–and that’s fun.”

Their process was cutting-edge at the time, but Gold knew that to crack the code on proteins, they’d need to be able to measure more and faster. That mission was the driving force in founding SomaLogic. “The tech for what we wanted to do didn’t exist, so we had to invent it on the spot,” Gold told an entrepreneur forum in 2015. “The basic idea was right about what we wanted to do, but the technology was harder than we thought,” he said.

Inventing those tools ultimately would take a decade and $200 million.

Imagining a bold future

In a way, proteins are like locks that Gold and his team were trying to find keys to. That matchmaking effort began decades ago, leading to an underlying innovation that fueled three spinouts and countless ongoing applications.

In the late 1980s, Gold and his team at CU Boulder, including PhD student Craig Tuerk, made a discovery that led to that original innovation. They were developing a technique to identify molecules that would selectively bind to other compounds (based on a piece of ribonucleic acid, or RNA, which Tuerk was studying).

Gold recalled the day when—two years into an experiment he’d asked Tuerk to do—they discovered they were onto something big. It was 1989, the day before Thanksgiving, and Tuerk came running out of the darkroom where he’d been working. “That afternoon, it was clear to us he had done something that had lots of possibilities for the future in biotech, and we covered a whiteboard with every idea we had,” said Gold.

It was a watershed moment that would change the biotech industry significantly. “Craig and I shared the most wonderful moment possible for scientists: we imagined a future in which RNAs were ‘shapes, not tapes’ or ‘strings, not things’ and were useful in the same way that monoclonal antibodies are useful,” Gold wrote in a 2015 article in the Journal of Molecular Evolution.

In the process, the group isolated the first-known aptamers, a class of molecules with the unique binding ability—the keys—they were looking for. Then, they devised a system called SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment), which could generate aptamers reliably and efficiently.

That discovery and development revolutionized biological research and medical diagnostics with wide-ranging applications from biomarker detection (indicating diseases like cancer and viral infections) to targeted therapies with fewer side effects.

From CU Boulder to the world

The Path to Commercialization

When a university startup is created, it is the culmination of years of research and significant work by the founders to build a compelling company vision, strategy and business model. The team at Venture Partners is here to help with each step along the way, including:

Remarkable biotechnology breakthroughs don’t happen often, and even fewer enter the marketplace—and with such exceptional results. But Gold seems to have a knack for bringing them to light, combining decades of experience with a passion for inquiry. “You have to do the mundane work, but you also have to try to ask big questions, too,” he said, “Most people don't do that because they're afraid; our culture, in general, breeds a fear of failure.”

But to make the big discoveries, Gold said scientists have to take chances and cling to small victories in the process. “You should take some shots that are slightly ridiculous,” he said. “And enjoy all these little moments along the way where you learn something. The business of science for me is incredibly fun, and so that makes it easy to do for a long time.”

Since Gold and colleagues developed the SELEX platform, various academic and biopharma partners have also used it to develop new diagnostic tests, discover new drugs, accelerate their translation to clinical practice and reveal a deeper understanding of basic human biology and disease. In one such collaboration, Imperial College London is using a SomaLogic platform to analyze tens of thousands of biological samples as part of an investigation into how lifestyle, diet, genetic, metabolic and other factors affect the development of serious illnesses.

Soon after developing SELEX, Gold co-founded and served as co-director of research at Synergen, Inc., a biotechnology company later acquired by Amgen, Inc. and he founded NeXagen, Inc. (later called NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), which merged with Gilead Sciences, Inc. in 1999. One major accomplishment of NeXstar centered on Macugen, a drug used to treat age-related macular degeneration and only the second-ever RNA aptamer to gain FDA approval.

Innovation that keeps on giving

Recognizing there was still work to be done in developing accessible diagnostics, Gold launched SomaLogic in 2000 where he served as CEO and chairman. He knew that focusing on proteomics—the field of measuring proteins—would be tough but, he wrote, “We also believed (and I continue to believe) that medical diagnostics was not as useful for patients and healthcare as it had to be, and that personalized medicine would depend on genomics and proteomics (and other ‘omics’ technologies).”

Based on the original SELEX technology developed at CU Boulder, SomaLogic pioneered the development of proteomics diagnostics and experiments. That is, they set out to create arrays of aptamers (keys) to fit thousands of proteins (locks) simultaneously to make disease discovery as simple as possible. Their unique “SOMAmers” can distinguish between nearly identical proteins and their SomaScan Assay is the first and only platform enabling 11,000 protein measurements from a tiny fluid sample.

Spinning three companies out of a single innovation developed at CU Boulder was an incredible feat, according to Bryn Rees, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation and managing director of Venture Partners at CU Boulder. “Larry was a pioneer and did this at a time when universities really weren’t set up to support that,” said Rees. “It was transformative. None of the whole innovation ecosystem that we currently have would exist without Larry doing that. The whole thing is a major CU Boulder success story.”

Venture Partners, the commercialization arm for CU Boulder, now has myriad programs to help would-be entrepreneurs launch their innovations into the world. “Fast forward to today where it’s a wholesale culture change, and the university really understands how intertwined the mission of the university is, with folks like Larry being able to spin their work out and impact so many, in his case, patients and labs around the world,” said Rees.

In 2021, SomaLogic went public, and in January 2024, it merged with Standard BioTools Inc., which uses next-generation technologies to transform scientific discoveries into better patient outcomes.

The sky’s the limit when thinking about how the discoveries originally made at CU Boulder will continue to be used to improve healthcare, Gold wrote. “…the future for applications of aptamers will be limited only by our imaginations…”

What if the fall leaves gave us more than beautiful scenery?

Fall provides stunning views of bright golds, deep ochres and shocks of red. But what if the fall leaves gave us more than beautiful scenery?

Most of a tree’s nutrients end up in its leaves. Once they fall each autumn, the nutrients in the leaves can be returned to the earth to feed plants next season. In fact, the leaves from one average shade tree have as many nutrients as $50 of plant fertilizer. So, instead of piling your leaves into the trash, rake in the savings by composting them in your backyard or curbside bin.

While composting is an excellent way to reuse leaves, leaving a thin layer on the ground can also benefit your garden and local ecosystem. Excess leaves can harm your lawn and clog storm drains, but a few leaves left in garden beds, around tree bases, or gathered in a corral made from chicken wire will create cozy habitats for beneficial insects. When tidying up this fall and next spring, remember to leave a few leaves behind to support these small, helpful critters!

For those extra leaves that need to be removed, here are some fall lawn care tips to help you get started.

Remove Fallen Leaves

Rain and melting snow will carry leaves through storm drains directly to nearby streams. The nutrients in leaves can harm aquatic life. Too many fallen leaves can also smother your lawn, exposing it to mold and disease. Collecting leaves on and around your property helps keep your lawn healthy. And, a healthy lawn requires fewer chemicals, further protecting our streams and waterways.

Compost Fallen Leaves

Once you’ve done the hard work of collecting leaves, make sure you compost them for maximum benefit to your garden and the environment. Placing leaves in the trash creates methane, a gas that traps in heat and contributes to climate change. Here are two eco-friendly composting alternatives for you to consider:

Curbside composting: The easiest solution is to place your leaves in your curbside compost bin. This can be mixed with other yard waste and food scraps and is taken to a local commercial composting facility. Look for this compost bagged in a store near you.

You can also bring your compostable materials to the city’s Wood and Yard Waste drop-off center for a reduced fee.

Backyard composting: Another option is to take those nutrients from your yard’s leaves and return them directly to your garden. In your backyard compost bin, simply alternate layers of shredded leaf litter with nitrogen-rich content like kitchen waste, grass clippings or manure. Careful maintenance of your backyard compost pile will lead to nutrient-rich compost ready for the spring planting season.

Winterize Your Irrigation System

And finally, while you’re preparing your yard for winter, don’t forget to winterize your irrigation system. As temperatures drop, any water left in your pipes or sprinkler heads can freeze and expand, leading to costly damage. To avoid this, shut off your system, drain the pipes, and insulate any above-ground components. If you’re unsure how to safely drain your system, consider hiring a professional to use the blowout method. Taking these precautions now will protect your irrigation system and ensure it’s ready to go when spring arrives.

These simple steps will promote a healthy garden, protect your irrigation from freeze damage, and help safeguard our waterways. By preparing your yard now, you’ll set yourself up for success when spring rolls around.

Find more ways to prevent water pollution at www.keepitcleanpartnership.org.

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