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?"

• 2012 - Clarion Awards/Association of Women in Communications, published May 26, 2011

  "Passing on Education"

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

  "Teacher's Fret"

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2012 Stories by Melanie Asmar

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  FEATURED STORY

  Denver Zoo welcomes 11,000-pound male elephant Groucho

  published Jan 24, 2012

  Bodhi the elephant has a new buddy. The Denver Zoo has welcomed its second male elephant, a 41-year-old named Groucho who came from the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas to live in the Denver Zoo's new mega-ex... More >>

• Louis Hampers: Defense lawyers ask that disgraced doctor be sentenced to probation

  published Jan 24, 2012

  The sentencing hearing for former ER doc Louis Hampers has been delayed once again. Charged with writing 654 phony prescriptions in 2009 and 2010, Hampers pleaded guilty this past July to much less: f... More >>

• Al White, Colorado tourism chief, pens new slogan for New Mexico: Just south of paradise!

  published Jan 24, 2012

  Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal ran a story about New Mexico's $2.5 million effort to rebrand the state "as a place of charm and character, adventure, excitement -- and really good green ... More >>

• Colorado Gives Day: Money keeps coming for twelve nonprofits that won $5,000 prizes

  published Jan 23, 2012

  Last month, we told you which of the 928 participating nonprofits raised the most money during Colorado Gives Day. This year, technical difficulties caused the 24-hour online charity blitz to be exte... More >>

• Immigration: About 15 percent of Denver case subjects allowed to stay in U.S. after review

  published Jan 20, 2012

  Preliminary numbers show that about 15 percent of the 7,923 immigrants whose cases were reviewed as part of a Department of Homeland Security pilot project in Denver will be allowed to stay in the co... More >>

• Denver Public Schools pushes back first day of school to late August to beat heat

  published Jan 20, 2012

  The school children shall melt no more! Or if they do, they'll do it later in the summer. The Denver Public School board of education has voted to push back the school start-date this coming fall, af... More >>

• Landlord 101 class seeks to teach increasing numbers of "accidental landlords" the basics

  published Jan 20, 2012

  An increase in the number of home foreclosures has led to another housing-related phenomenon: the rise of the accidental landlord. These are the folks who buy foreclosed properties and instead of movi... More >>

• Denver Public Schools's graduation rate climbs while dropout rate stays the same

  published Jan 20, 2012

  Denver's graduation rate is on the rise. Statistics released today show that 56.1 percent of seniors graduated "on time" in the spring of 2011, as opposed to 51.8 percent in 2010. "On time" means the... More >>

• Refugees in Colorado: How many are here, and where do they come fromr

  published Jan 18, 2012

  In 2010, Colorado welcomed 2,367 refugees from around the world. That's more than in 2009, when 2,157 refugees were resettled here, but fewer than in 1980, when 4,200 refugees made Colorado their new... More >>

• Colorado's charter school law slips from fourth to seventh in new national ranking

  published Jan 17, 2012

  Colorado is seventh in the nation when it comes to the quality of its charter school laws, according to a ranking released today by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. That's actually a ... More >>

• Burma: A primer on recent political changes in the country also known as Myanmar

  published Jan 17, 2012

  The government of Burma (also known as Myanmar) is undergoing a transformation of sorts. As explained in this week's cover story, "A World Away," Burma has been a dangerous place for decades due to c... More >>

• Lesbian couple in limbo as immigration pilot program officially ends today

  published Jan 13, 2012

  Violeta Pando couldn't sleep last night. After all, today is the last for a six-week pilot program to review the deportation cases of all non-detained immigrants in Baltimore and Denver -- including ... More >>

• Charter schools: State Board of Ed approves non-mandatory standards for authorizers

  published Jan 12, 2012

  Update: The State Board of Education has approved new standards for charter school authorizers -- the school districts and one quasi-state agency that approve new charter schools. But the standards ar... More >>

• Video: Teenage refugees from Burma perform a traditional dance for the New Year

  published Jan 12, 2012

  This week's cover story, "A World Away," tells the story of Drucie Bathin, a 46-year-old refugee from Burma who has made it her life's work to help other, newer refugees. She has a soft spot for the ... More >>

• Tim Tebow: Ten things non-sports fans should know about The Chosen One

  published Jan 12, 2012

  Tim Tebow is big news. In fact, he's such big news that it's no longer acceptable for non-sports fans to not know who he is. Don't worry: Westword has your back. For all of you who think NFL stands f... More >>

• Drucie Bathin: Without her, many refugees from Burma would be lost in Denver

  published Jan 11, 2012

  In the past four years, more than 2,000 Burmese refugees have arrived in Colorado. Though the state provides support, some of them struggle to navigate language, laws and customs of their new home. B... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Local refugees from Burma would be lost without Drucie Bathin

  published January 12, 2012

  Drucie Bathin pulls her black Toyota Yaris parallel to the curb on Rosemary Street in east Denver and opens her car door to the frigid December... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Ten Colorado companies strut their stuff at the Consumer Electronics Show

  published Jan 10, 2012

  The Consumer Electronics Show, that yearly technology bacchanal, kicks off today in Las Vegas. It's an orgy of smartphones, tablets, Justin Bieber and ... gospel singers belting out tweetsr You bette... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Jared Polis wants investigation into abuse of LGBT immigrants in detention

  published Jan 09, 2012

  Colorado Congressman Jared Polis has called for a government investigation into alleged abuse suffered by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender immigrants detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforce... More >>

• Civil unions: One Colorado director Brad Clark glad for GOP group in favor of them

  published Jan 06, 2012

  The defeat of a bill to legalize civil unions in the last legislative session was a heart-breaker for those in favor of marriage equality. After passing in the Senate, the bill was defeated in a Hous... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Art vandalism or vandalism as artr Four pranks that made us smile -- unlike Carmen Tisch

  published Jan 06, 2012

  Some acts of art vandalism are clearly inspired by outrage. Take, for example, El Dildo Bandito, the nom de guerre of a man who stole 22 ceramic penises from an art display in Boulder. Others are ins... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Five acts of art vandalism as weird as Carmen Tisch's peeing at Clyfford Still Museum

  published Jan 06, 2012

  The case of Carmen Tisch, the 36-year-old woman who scratched, punched, rubbed and then peed in close proximity to a $30 million painting at the new Clyfford Still Museum, is definitely weird. But it... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Video: Waylon the wandering cat not exactly overjoyed by reunion with owner

  published Jan 04, 2012

  Cats don't give a shit about much of anything. Catnip, maybe. And birds and laser pointers. But reuniting with their owners after six long months of separationr Kitty cat don't care. Kitty cat don't ... More >>

• Waylon the wandering cat: What would happen if he and found-cat Willow had babiesr

  published Jan 03, 2012

  The media (Westword included) loves a good lost-cat-found story. Three months after a Broomfield calico named Willow made national news (and got fondled by Anderson Cooper) when she turned up in New Y... More >>