🌱 Patch AM: Can your Boulder County mountain home reach 911 when power fails?

Hello Boulder! Here's our latest buzz. Let's get into it. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• Can your Boulder County mountain home reach 911 when power fails?
• Could a north Boulder housing plan knock out your cell coverage?
• Are Boulder's rising e-bike crashes actually getting less dangerous?

Also on today's calendar: Jingle and Jazz supporting Food Security and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: I once read a book about anti-gravity. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Friday: Variable cloudiness, with a high of 59 and low of 48 degrees.
• Saturday: Breezy in the a.m.; some sun, temps: high: 58, low: 35.
• Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high of 65 and low of 46 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. After CBS Colorado story, phone company will negotiate better landline service for mountain communities (cbsnews.com) — Mountain residents in Boulder County are struggling to reach 911 when power outages knock out Lumen landlines, leaving areas like Gold Hill and Lefthand without reliable emergency communication. After pressure from local fire chiefs, legislators, and earlier reporting, Lumen has agreed to negotiate fixes to failing backup batteries that now last only about 30 minutes during outages. More than 15 mountain departments could be affected.
   

2. Legal dispute over a north Boulder cell tower continues (dailycamera.com) — A long-running fight over a 42-foot cell tower in north Boulder is now in federal court, with AT&T’s New Cingular battling a Virginia developer over lease rights and possible demolition. The owner wants to redevelop the church property into mostly affordable housing, while New Cingular warns losing the tower could disrupt AT&T and FirstNet coverage for years in Boulder County.
   

3. Boulder sees rise in e-bike crashes, but drop in severe injuries (boulderreportinglab.org) — Boulder is seeing more e-bike crashes overall, but a smaller share of them are severe, and total severe crashes citywide have dropped compared with pre-pandemic years. City officials are tracking e-bike trends, exploring regulatory authority, and advancing the Vision Zero Action Plan to improve safety for people biking, walking, and driving on Boulder’s streets.
   

4. The 8th Avenue and Coffman Street Bike-n-Ride Shelter in Longmont Has Reopened! (bouldercounty.gov) — A Boulder County Bike-n-Ride shelter at 8th Avenue and Coffman Street in Longmont is back open, and local riders can again store bikes there with an access card. Boulder County residents can add this shelter to their three-location limit or apply for a new key card through the county’s Bike-n-Ride program, with staff available by email or phone for help.
   

5. Date set for second settlement hearing in NAACP Boulder County lawsuit (dailycamera.com) — The NAACP’s lawsuit against former leaders of its Boulder County branch is moving toward a second settlement conference set for Feb. 18, 2026, in Denver. The case centers on control of local branch assets and follows years of tension between former branch executives and Boulder officials, including City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde and Police Chief Stephen Redfearn.
   

📸 Around Boulder

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Boulder

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Sunday December 14

• Jingle and Jazz supporting Food Security
  St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church, 4775 Cambridge St, Boulder
  4:00 pm

Tuesday December 16

• FREE WEBINAR | “The Golden Age of Florence”
  Online,
  11:30 am

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Thursday December 11

• Bria Skonberg: Jingle Bell Swing
  Macky Auditorium Concert Hall , 1595 Pleasant St , Boulder
  7:30 pm

Saturday December 13

• Canyon Theater Open House
  Canyon Theater , Main Library, Theater , Boulder
  10:00 am
• Chautauqua WinterFest
  Colorado Chautauqua , 900 Baseline Rd , Boulder
  10:00 am
• All Ages Storytime at NoBo
  NoBo Library , Community Room (2nd Floor) , Boulder
  10:15 am
• Storytime at Reynolds
  Reynolds Library , Reynolds Meeting Room , Boulder
  10:15 am
• Sip and Shop Saturdays
  Museum of Boulder , 2205 Broadway , Boulder
  11:00 am
• Meadows Drop In Tech Help
  Meadows Library , Meadows Study Rm #2, Meadows Study Rm #3 , Boulder
  11:00 am
• Bonsai Workshop at Asher Brewing
  Asher Brewing Company , 4699 Nautilus Ct S , Boulder
  2:00 pm

Saturday December 20

• Candlelight: Christmas Carols on Strings
  St. John's Episcopal Church of Boulder 1419 Pine Street Boulder, Colorado 80302
  4:15 pm
• Candlelight: Queen vs. ABBA
  St. John's Episcopal Church , 1419 Pine St , Boulder
  8:45 pm

📣 Boulder Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Dog I found at my door is reunited with his owner.
  Posting again here in case my replies to my original post don't get seen by those who are so kind to say thanks to me. I'm a full-time dog trainer… (Nextdoor Valmont Rd)
• found stray dog--This very sweet dog showed up on our porch 20 minutes ago.
  Wanted to come in very badly, made himself at home on my couch I offered him water Etc ****please call*** 970-531-8509 if you know this dog or are… (Nextdoor Valmont Rd)

• Corden Pharma Boulder, Inc. posted a job opening for Accounts Receivable Specialist in Boulder. Apply here.
• Salas O'Brien posted a job opening for Stainless Steel CNC Machinist in Boulder. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Boulder here.

Ok Boulder! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I couldn’t put it down.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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