Boulder’s local thrift store needs more donations

Boulder’s only accessibly priced, local, Independent Thrift store, Pig + Pearl Secondhand (formerly ARES Thrift), needs our community support! They are the only thrift store in Boulder for affordable pre-owned merchandise for less affluent people, seniors, students and the community. They are a model for earth-friendly recycling/repurposing of clothing, housewares and furnishings in Boulder. They also support many local animal-rescue organizations. In this world of mega-retailers, it’s more important than ever to support our community-based AND environmentally friendly options!

Towards the end of the pandemic, their previous location, 2536 Spruce, was sold to a developer. They moved to their current location at 5320 Arapahoe in March of 2022. The move was costly, but things got back on track. Fast forward to 2024, Boulder started a multi-year cone-zone project on East Arapahoe that obstructed access to their donation center, often when no one was working, even holidays. The customer base is strong; however, donations have dwindled because of the cone zone hassle.

Everything at Pig + Pearl is either $3 or $1, clothing, household goods or furniture, making their store uniquely affordable. Other thrift stores in Boulder support worthy causes but have much higher prices. Most cull their donations and price them close to new. Many sell valuable items on the internet or ship local donations to other corporate locations outside of Boulder.

If you are moving, getting rid of unwanted items, fulfilling your New Year’s resolutions to clean the garage, attic or just wanting to donate to a worthwhile cause, consider taking them to Pig + Pearl Secondhand at 5320 Arapahoe Ave. If you are a on a tight budget or want to support a great organization, check out Pig + Pearl for the best deal on secondhand items in town, while supporting rescue animals in need.

— Margaret and Mark Carson, Boulder

How to address Colorado’s problem of gun violence

We are students from Angevine Middle School and would like to address the problem of gun violence in Colorado.

The first issue about gun violence we would like to inform you about is that 21-year-olds can have a firearm legally, this is defective because 21 is the age when adults can start drinking lawfully and it can be dangerous for new drinkers who have firearms they don’t know how to use. We propose that the age limit should be raised to 26 because 25 is when the brain’s frontal lobe and prefrontal cortex are developed around the late 20s.

Not everyone selling a firearm in a transfer requires an FFL, meaning not every buyer needs a background check. In 2017 Harvard and Northeastern Universities survey estimated that roughly one in five transactions occur without a background check. We suggest that the buyer get a background check beforehand for every firearm transfer.

According to the ATF, anyone can sell a gun without an FFL from their home, online, at a flea market, or at a gun show as long as he or she is not conducting the sale as part of regular business activity. That means a person of any age or background could sell an illegal firearm or sell a firearm illegally to make a profit, people selling a firearm should have the right credentials and permission from the Federal Firearms Licensing Center (FFLC) or some other type of authority.

Children younger than 18 may possess guns that were given to them by parents or guardians as gifts provided that they have written permission, a child of any age can have and use a gun as long as it was a gift from someone over 21, a minor could use this rule as an excuse to carry a firearm.

— Mila Su and Amelia Tai, Lafayette

The greatest danger to world peace is the U.S.

I just read Junie Joseph’s Op-ed in the Jan. 18 paper.

I will say that her writing sounded like a bunch of platitudes — e.g., the U.S. is protecting itself and other countries.

Doesn’t she know that our country is the greatest danger to world peace? We certainly wish to dominate all others and therefore are almost always at War. We are hardly an example of freedom — look at who the plurality of Americans just voted in!

I suppose that she agrees that we arm Israel with 2,000 pound bombs to destroy defenseless cities. Actually, I primarily blame the U.S. for the slaughter in Palestine since we are protecting the Israeli government because of their apparent influence in our politics.

— David Levin, Eldorado Springs