Patching Things Up

And then she received Holcomb's letter, which arrived on a day that, like so many others recently, was not very good. Archer read the first paragraph about the award, and remembers thinking, "Oh, good, something's going right." Then she read the second paragraph, and thought again. "I think it's vicious," she says. "And it's unnecessary."

Bricks aren't the only things flying through LoDo these days. Bar owners accuse one another of overserving customers, and those customers leave litter and urine and vomit on the sidewalks in front of the pricey lofts. (When LDDI's Good Neighbor Policy Committee meets this week, those are bound to be some of the hotter topics.)

But there are still some neighborly feelings in this, Denver's hottest--and arguably hottest tempered--neighborhood. "She's a valued member of the community," LDDI's incoming president, Carrie Kramlich, insists of Archer. "She can remedy the problem." And if she does, LDDI's willing to exchange that Flying Brick with the organization's top honor: an Ancient Brick.

The rest is history.