Email Author Melanie Asmar

Awards

• 2012 - GLAAD Media Awards, published May 5, 2011

  "Coming Out in America"

• 2012 - National Association of Black Journalists Awards, published March 17, 2011

  "Say What?"

• 2011 - Education Reporting Awards/National Education Writers Association, published June 10, 2010

  "Teacher's Fret"

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2010 Stories by Melanie Asmar

• Unfriending: These are exactly the type of Facebook updates that will get you booted

  published Oct 13, 2010

  University of Colorado-Denver PhD student Christopher Sibona recently used science -- science! -- to figure out why people "unfriend" each other on Facebook. One big reasonr Frequent, unimportant pos... More >>

• Roller derby: It's boys vs. girls when Rollin' Bones challenge Green Barrettes on Saturday

  published Oct 12, 2010

  Colorado's fledgling rollerboys, Colorado Roller Derby's Rollin' Bones, will play the big girls in a bout Saturday against the Denver Roller Dolls' Green Barrettes at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield... More >>

• Denver Zoo: Lizard babies deserve love, too

  published Oct 08, 2010

  Some babies are cuter than others. It's harsh, but true. But ugly babies deserve love, too! With that in mind, we bring you the Denver Zoo's newest babies: four caiman lizard-lings born in Septem... More >>

• Aaron Klug: Top 5 (probably) worse places to get arrested than at a Dungeons & Dragons event

  published Oct 06, 2010

  There Aaron Klug was, minding his own business at a Dungeons & Dragons event Tuesday, when the pesky cops showed up. Did he slay them with his Flaming Battle Axe or bludgeon them with his skull-toppe... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hunter S. Thompson's Canadian cover letter: "Don't think that my arrogance is unintentional"

  published Oct 05, 2010

  Hunter S. Thompson could have been a Canadian. Sort of. In 1958, the then-struggling New York City reporter applied for a job at the Vancouver Sun newspaper in British Columbia. According to an ent... More >>

• Louis Hampers: Indicted Children's Hospital doctor posts $2.5 million cash bond

  published Oct 04, 2010

  Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital ER doctor charged with writing 654 phony prescriptions to feed what his lawyers say was a raging pill addiction, posted a $2.5 million cash bond this morning. ... More >>

• Andrea Merida: Third attempt to recall controversial Denver school board member gets go-ahead

  published Sep 30, 2010

  A third attempt to initiate a recall of controversial Denver Public Schools boardmember Andrea Merida has been given the go-ahead. The three southwest Denver voters who asked for the recall now have s... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  How to get my job: Zoo photographer

  published Sep 30, 2010

  There are many jobs in this world. Some are so bizarre, you probably don't know they exist; others seem so great, you can't believe people get paid to do them. To highlight some of these jobs, we've ... More >>

• Bishop Eddie Long: Alleged sex abuse victim from Colorado Springs speaks out

  published Sep 29, 2010

  A 23-year-old from Colorado Springs who is one of four men accusing Atlanta pastor Bishop Eddie Long of sexual abuse spoke to a Fox News reporter from Georgia last night. Jamal Parris is the first of ... More >>

• Louis Hampers: Bail for doc accused of prescription drug fraud set at $2.5 million

  published Sep 29, 2010

  A federal court judge has set bail for Dr. Louis Hampers, the former head of the Children's Hospital ER who is accused of writing 654 phony prescriptions using several aliases and stolen identities, a... More >>

• Louis Hampers: Prosecutor says he used ID of woman he paid for sex to illegally get Rx pills

  published Sep 28, 2010

  Lots of new details emerged at a detention hearing today for Dr. Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital ER doc arrested for fraudulently writing 654 prescriptions. Among them: that Hampers used the id... More >>

• Operation Cock Block target Bill Sullivan gets conned in the dating section of Craigslist

  published Sep 27, 2010

  Most of the ads under "men seeking women" on Denver's Craigslist are meant to be tantalizing, to make the reader shout, "Yes! That's me!" "Do You Like Kissing and Wearing Heelsr" Sure! "Are You a Femi... More >>

• Denver Public Schools' get-along retreat for board members: "People think we're nuts"

  published Sep 24, 2010

  Last month, the DPS school board held a day-long retreat at the district's Balarat Outdoor Education Center. The seven-member board is divided on many issues, with four members in the majority and th... More >>

• Andrea Merida: Behind the scenes with Denver Public Schools' controversial board member

  published Sep 23, 2010

  Our latest feature story, "Andrea Merida's Classroom Behavior Has Earned Her a Seat Apart on the Denver School Board," profiles Merida, the controversial DPS board member who, in ten months on the boa... More >>

• Louis Hampers: No bail yet for controversial doc charged with writing fake prescriptions

  published Sep 23, 2010

  Dr. Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital ER doctor charged with writing 654 fake prescriptions, appeared for the first time in a Colorado court today after being arrested in Virginia on September 7.... More >>

• Andrea Merida, rule breaker: Profile of Denver Public Schools' controversial board member

  published Sep 22, 2010

  Denver Public Schools board member Andrea Merida has shaken things up at DPS. In ten months, she's butted heads with administrators, stood up for teachers when no one else would, and survived two rec... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Andrea Merida's classroom behavior has earned her a seat apart on the Denver school board

  published September 23, 2010

  Andrea Merida blows through the back door of the sunny conference room at Denver Public Schools' Balarat Outdoor Education Center. She's in a... More >>

• Nadine Montoya guilty of first-degree murder in Burger King hit-and-run

  published Sep 21, 2010

  Nadine Montoya has been convicted of murdering a 49-year-old Aurora woman in a hit-and-run at a Burger King last May. Montoya, 27, will likely serve life in prison for crushing Lilian Verdonkschot w... More >>

• Carmelo Anthony and La La Vazquez's VH1 reality show: The top three (least boring) scenes

  published Sep 21, 2010

  As Westword's Latest Word blogger-extraordinaire Michael Roberts pointed out, the premiere episode of La La's Full Court Wedding was boring, despite the fact that title of the show sounds a little po... More >>

• The Center, Denver's GLBT nonprofit, moves to fancy new digs; check them out today!

  published Sep 17, 2010

  After 34 years spent advocating for and supporting Denver's GLBT community, The Center has a home of its own. The nonprofit, which sponsors Denver's annual PrideFest celebration, has moved to fancy n... More >>

• Andrea Merida: Second attempt to recall Denver Public Schools board member fails

  published Sep 15, 2010

  A second attempt to recall Denver Public Schools board member Andrea Merida has failed. The Denver Elections Division again rejected a recall petition submitted by three voters in Merida's district b... More >>

• Nadine Montoya: Trial of alleged Burger King hit-and-run driver started this morning

  published Sep 13, 2010

  What started as a late-night drive-thru run last May for 49-year-old Lilian Verdonkschot, her daughter and her daughter's friend turned tragic when Verdonkschot was hit by the driver of a Cadillac De... More >>

• Louis Hampers, controversial doc charged with writing fake prescriptions, to return to Colorado

  published Sep 10, 2010

  Dr. Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital ER doctor facing federal charges for writing 654 phony prescriptions, is headed back to Colorado. Hampers was arrested Tuesday in Virginia and appeared in c... More >>

• Andrea Merida: Attempt to recall DPS board member fails, petitioners vow to try again

  published Sep 10, 2010

  An attempt to recall Denver Public Schools board member Andrea Merida failed yesterday when a petition to initiate the process was rejected by the Denver Elections Division. According to division spok... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Louis Hampers: Indicted Children's doctor back in court on Friday, back in Colorado soon

  published Sep 08, 2010

  Dr. Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital ER doctor charged with writing 654 fake prescriptions dating back to 2007 and continuing through April, will return to court Friday in Virginia, where he wa... More >>