by neil kearney | Mar 1, 2010 | Colorado Lifestyle
There is much to do in and around Boulder, you just have to look for it. The University is the backbone of our cultural and educational opportunities buy business leaders and athletes also provide an interesting layer of texture to our community.
In conjunction with Boulder’s 150th year celebration, the Boulder History Museum is hosting a series of lectures by some of Boulder’s most influential citizens. There are only a few dates left and the lineup sounds very interesting. 
Tues., March 9 · Tom Cech
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology.
Wed., April 7 · Nick and Helen Forster
Musicians, songwriters, actors and hosts of etown, a nationally acclaimed live radio program based in Boulder.
Tues., May 4 · Frank Shorter
Olympic champion, sports commentator and a driving force in the distance running boom that started in the U.S.
All programs are held at the historic Chautauqua Auditorium. Click here for ticket information.
by neil kearney | Feb 16, 2010 | Colorado Lifestyle
Boulder chalked up another national honor yesterday when the Gallup polling company announced the
results of its “Healthways Well-Being Index. According to their information:
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index score measures for each city an average of six sub-indexes, which individually examine life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors, and access to basic necessities. The overall composite score and each of the six sub-indexes’ scores are calculated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 represents fully realized well-being.
While it lists Boulder as the winner, the actual area is the Boulder Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes all of Boulder County. With a composite score of 72.5 Boulder out paced all areas regardless of size. The study was extensive and included a sample of 353,000 adults nationwide.
The overall result calls attention to what we already know. The quality of life in the Boulder area is outstanding and the people who live here tend to be happy, employed, healthy and relatively affluent.
Here are the definitions of the areas that were examined during the poll.
The Life Evaluation Index is based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale, which asks people to evaluate their present and future lives on a scale with steps numbered from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst possible life and 10 is the best possible life. Those who rate today a “7” or higher and the future an “8” or higher are considered to be “thriving.” Those who rate today and the future a “4” or lower on the scale are considered to be “suffering.” The overall Life Evaluation Index score is calculated as the percentage of thriving Americans minus the percentage of struggling Americans.
The Emotional Health Index measures daily smiling or laughter, learning or doing something interesting, being treated with respect, enjoyment, happiness, worry, sadness, anger, stress, and diagnosis of depression.
The Work Environment Index measures job satisfaction, ability to use one’s strengths at work, supervisor’s treatment (more like a boss or a partner), and the formation of a trusting work environment.
The Physical Health Index is determined by sick days in the past month, disease burden, health problems that get in the way of normal activities, obesity, feeling well-rested, daily energy, daily colds, daily flu, and daily headaches.
The Healthy Behavior Index includes four items: smoking, eating healthy, weekly consumption of fruits and vegetables, and weekly exercise frequency.
The Basic Access Indexis determined by access to clean water, medicine, a safe place to exercise, and affordable fruits and vegetables; enough money for food, shelter, healthcare; having health insurance, having a doctor, having visited a dentist recently; satisfaction with the community, the community getting better as a place to live, and feeling safe walking alone at night.
Not only is this a feel good story for our citizens it gives companies very real data why they should bring their employees to our area. We have always had a large contingent of people who choose to live in Boulder because of the “outdoor” lifestyle or previous rankings in publications such as Outside Magazine and Money Magazine. What it turns into is a big self-fulfilling prophecy which attracts the people who perpetuate the lifestyle. Not a bad cycle to be in.
For a full list of the ranked cities in the poll, click here.
by neil kearney | Feb 8, 2010 | Colorado Lifestyle
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9305473&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=1&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1
On a snowy February day like today, I can’t help but think it would be a great day to sneak up for some turns at Eldora. Eldora Mountain Resort is located just 21 miles west of Boulder, just above Nederland Colorado. It is an easy 30 – 40 minute drive up Boulder Canyon and RTD runs a bus from Downtown Boulder directly to the lodge. We are lucky to have such a resource so close to town.
Just a few weeks back my son wanted to try snowboarding, so we thought Eldora would be a great place to learn. The ski/ride school is a great place to learn and/or improve. I would recommend it!
by neil kearney | Nov 22, 2009 | Colorado Lifestyle
The holiday season in Boulder Colorado is officially kicked off! It may seem a little early, but Santa and the popular singing group FACE helped bring in the holiday season on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder tonight. The concert and Santa appearance were the precursor to the lighting of the Christmas lights on the mall, courthouse and the Flagstaff Star which will all now shine until after New Years Day.
As the countdown finally made it’s way to 0 the energy efficient LED Christmas lights reluctantly flickered on and the courthouse didn’t light for another 30 seconds. It was quite anti-climatic but quite funny. Overall it was a nice event that brought people together in a festive way. Way to go Downtown Boulder!
by neil kearney | Nov 14, 2009 | Colorado Lifestyle
I was watching TV the other night and came across a rerun of the movie “You’ve Got Mail”. In the movie, the characters played by Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, work their way through many cute and funny situations. One of the main themes in the movie shows how charming local bookstores are getting replaced by national chains.
Boulder is lucky to have The Boulder Bookstore, a local bookstore that has been doing business on the Pearl Street Mall for a very long time. One of the advantages of having a good bookstore in town are the events they hold.
Every week, The Boulder Bookstore holds book reading events. Just this past Thursday The Grammer Girl (Mingon Fogerty) appeared in person to read from her new book and I was there. She puts together one of my favorite podcasts
but that’s not the point. The point is, that every week, three to four authors come to Boulder to read from their books This just another small piece of the puzzle which makes the quality of life in Boulder so.
