4 JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 11 TALK IT UP The Rockies may have their worst season ever, but Drew Goodman’s is at the top of his game. BY MICHAEL ROBERTS 6 FOREVER IN HER HEART Andre Price Jr. was murdered in 1995. His mother still wants answers. BY HANNAH METZGER 16 INSIDE BALLYHOO Julia Tobey is opening a multi- use venue where art, caffeine, cocktails and community will converge. BY TONI TRESCA 21 TACO THE TOWN The Warnicks have made Taco Tuesdays a real family affair. BY GIL ASAKAWA 23 NEXT-GEN METAL Blood on the Land Festival will debut with up-and-coming underground bands at D3 Arts. BY JUSTIN CRIADO 16 Culture 21 Cafe 23 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 24 31 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 31 ASK A STONER ......................................... 31 VOLUME 48 NUMBER 44 JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2025 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Interim Food and Drink Editor Gil Asakawa Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Brendan Joel Kelley, Bennito L. 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DESIGN BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI “FIGHTING FIRE WITH IRE,” KRISTEN FIORE, JUNE 19 T H E I R E N E X T T I M E What an inspirational piece on the Dead Sinatras! In advance to Pride, this story is a timely reminder that the fi ght is far from over. Laynie McGrew Aurora In an otherwise great article about Den- ver’s longtime lesbian band Dead Sinatras, there was one phrase that was historically in- accurate: “EPOC, a group founded to combat Amendment 2.” Just as I often do whenever I hear or read historically inaccurate state- ments, I initially said to myself, “Ah, heck, just let it go” regarding the article’s reference to EPOC. Recognizing that silence is one way that history gets rewritten, it’s best that I speak up to clarify the inaccuracy. EPOC (Equal Protection Ordinance Coali- tion) was not “founded” to combat the anti-gay Amendment 2 measure that was on Colorado’s statewide ballot in 1992. The founding of EPOC predated the 1992 campaign by four years to 1988, at which point EPOC began the effort to get a Denver ordinance to protect the rights of gays and lesbians. EPOC soon discov- ered that Denver had no civil rights ordinance protecting anyone, so EPOC began the time- consuming process of working Denver City Council to get the fi rst civil rights ordinance protecting people on several factors (race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, marital status, etc.) as well as two words “sexual orientation” to protect gays and lesbians. Once the new ordinance was passed by city council in October 1990 and Mayor Federico Peña signed it into law, an anti-gay entity call- ing itself “Citizens for Sensible Rights” (CSR) sought a special election to remove two words (sexual orientation) from the new ordinance. EPOC waged a campaign to keep the two words in the ordinance, which was upheld by Denver voters in May 1991. Shortly after EPOC won that Denver battle, another anti-gay entity call- ing itself Colorado for Family Values sought a statewide amendment to repeal all protections for gays and lesbians. Known as Amendment 2, the anti-gay campaign was battled state- wide by EPOC in late 1991 and all of 1992 until statewide voters sided with CFV to approve the law in the November 1992 election. Not long after the election, EPOC was blamed for the failed campaign and lambasted by various sectors of gays and lesbians for whom EPOC fi ercely advocated from 1988 through 1992. The voter-approved new state law was eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court four years later in 1996. As you can see from my above-described historical summary, the work of EPOC predated the Amendment 2 campaign and spanned over a four-year period. As someone who has read Westword regu- larly for fi ve decades and has been a multi- issue activist in Colorado for 61 years since 1964, I applaud Kristen Fiore and other West- word professional writers for the diverse topics of their very informative stories. Butch Martínez Denver “HOME STRETCH,” BENNITO L. KELTY, JUNE 19 H A L F W A Y H O M E Mayor Mike Johnston is blind, and you can see all he did was push the homeless into other areas and towns. Lakewood is riddled with homeless people all over the place and in major intersections. Golden has also seen an increase in homeless people on the streets. If you simply drive around the areas, you can see it for yourself. I can drive down I-70 and Sixth Avenue and see them from the roads. You should take the time to drive around and see for yourself, as this is a news outlet and it’s your job. I know I could show you the homeless on Colfax and the open drug use in Edgewater, where I saw a woman at the intersection of Colfax and Sheridan preparing her drugs to be used. A week earlier, I saw a man at the dealership between trucks smoking crack or meth facing the street. Rick Galente Golden I still see a ton of homeless on 16th Street. Most of them need psychological help. That’s where we as a society fall short. Tina Marie Luna Denver
