Economic Policy

Fate of the Union

McCain Holds Town Hall in Town

The Colorado officials who bucked the bailout -- and those who went along

No Taxation Without Misrepresentation

A state property-tax goofup means that a poor Colorado county has to pay back a huge oil company.

Focus on the Family's nightmare scenario about an Obama victory

A state property-tax goofup means that a poor Colorado county has to pay back a huge oil company.

Timing dubious in push to raise FasTracks taxes

Yesterday, the Regional Transportation District took the wraps off an RTD-financed survey in which more than 60 percent of respondents said they'd "generally support" a tax increase to complete current FasTracks exansion by 2017. This info spawned prominently placed stories in the Denver Post and ... More >>

Frontier's economic stimulus deal's a real cockpit tease

Those flashy online Frontier ads sure look enticing. Click and you'll find out that the airline has extended it's Economic Stimulus Package deal until today! Flights from Denver starting at $39! "Save big bucks all across the USA," their website says. Big bucks! Across the USA! Why not? But click ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Stimulate This

The last time this state's economy went bust, Colorado fought its way back by constructing Denver International Airport. That's not going to be an option this time, Governor Bill Ritter said as he walked along DIA's Concourse B Thursday, off on a fast (less than 24-hour) trip to the East Coast to ... More >>

Denver Blogs: And you are...?

Sen. What's His Name (D-Somewhere)This here's the booty from our daily quest for local blogging treasures. Send links here. Yes, Senator Bennet, I have a question: Who the hell are you? (Colorado Pols) When it comes to writing about the stimulus package, Mike Rosen and Chuck Green are not exactly ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: The week ahead, February 16-21

The big news: Barack Obama is coming back to Denver, the town where he accepted the Democratic nomination on August 28, and where now, as president, he will now sign the $787 billion stimulus bill on Tuesday, February 17 at the Museum of Nature & Science (conveniently vetted by the Secret Service ... More >>

Dick Wadhams has a greeting for Barack Obama

Dick Wadhams. Sweeping defeat in the 2008 elections hasn't made Colorado Republican Party boss Dick Wadhams any less feisty. On behalf of the state GOP, Wadhams purchased enormous advertisements in both the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post featuring the banner headline "COLORADO REPUBLICANS ... More >>

Jon Caldara on today's Barack Obama protest

In addition to buying a full-page ad needling President Barack Obama, who's in town today to sign a $787 billion economic-stimulus bill, Colorado Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams is also taking part in a protest at the Colorado State Capitol co-starring a number of big names in local conserv ... More >>

Denver Blogs: Reading is fundamentally overrated

Like always, we cruised the local blogosphere for stuff worth a few minutes. Send tips. Senator Bennet, apparently not a speed-reader, did not read entire stimulus bill before voting. The question: Do you care? (Face the State) What the stimulus bill means for Colorado's New Energy Economy. (Color ... More >>

Denver Blogs: A green Aspen?

Photo courtest of Flickr.Can Aspen go green?Our daily slosh through the blogosphere. Send links here. Aspen: Where the beer flows like wine, and where they swear they're going green. (Colorado Independent) The Avs do their best Rockies' impression, shop Ryan Smyth. (Avs Talk) Colorado gets the sh ... More >>

Denver Blogs: It's a good thing Brandon Marshall hits women and not dogs. Otherwise he'd be screwed.

Our daily peek into the local blogoshere. Send links. The NFL: The only place where a serial abuser catches a break because he catches a football. (Mile High Report) The stimulus money is on its way. But will it make a difference? (Colorado Independent and Colorado Pols) Peter Boyles thinks it wo ... More >>

Pueblo Bank & Trust: Keep your stinkin' bailout money, President Obama

In recent days, Pueblo Bank & Trust has been running an unusual ad on local stations. The message: The federal government has been pushing bailout money on healthy banks as well as sickly ones -- but PB&T doesn't need rescuing, because it's in sound financial condition. This approach is echoed by ... More >>

Our Daily Bread Special Report!

So, Westword web editor Joe Tone and I tried going to Mendelson's today for a triple-decker sandwich so I could start working on my Mendelson's sweatshirt (free if you eat all 21 varieties), but it was closed, I'm assuming, because of the rapidly melting snow.. As a result, we headed across th ... More >>

The Hundred Days' War

How hard is it to find 90,000 citizens who want a tax cut? Ask Douglas Bruce.

Is there pork in Denver's parking operation?

How hard is it to find 90,000 citizens who want a tax cut? Ask Douglas Bruce.

Art in the Cabinet

How hard is it to find 90,000 citizens who want a tax cut? Ask Douglas Bruce.

Fire Sale

The cost of cigarettes could go up in smoke this November.

Bruce Talk

The father of tax limits offers a radical diet for lean times.

Road Warriors

Boon or boondoggle, Bill Owens's highway plan has to get past Douglas Bruce before it goes anywhere.

Someone to Lien On

Boon or boondoggle, Bill Owens's highway plan has to get past Douglas Bruce before it goes anywhere.

This Property Is Condemned

The EPA messes with a widow over a Commerce City warehouse and winds up making its own mess.

A SWEET DEAL

NEED A TAX BREAK FOR THE NEW YEAR? CONSIDER RAISING BEES, DONKEYS, HAY OR, AS A LAST RESORT, A STINK WITH THE COUNTY ASSESSOR.TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE? FOR A SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPER SEEKING A TAX BREAK, THAT'S NO QUESTION. BUT TAXPAYERS GET STUNG.

RUNAWAY TRAINCONGRESS SPURNED IT, STATE LAWMAKERS SCORN IT, BUT CAN ANYBODY PUT THE BRAKES ON LIGHT RAIL?

NEED A TAX BREAK FOR THE NEW YEAR? CONSIDER RAISING BEES, DONKEYS, HAY OR, AS A LAST RESORT, A STINK WITH THE COUNTY ASSESSOR.TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE? FOR A SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPER SEEKING A TAX BREAK, THAT'S NO QUESTION. BUT TAXPAYERS GET STUNG.

JOUST FRIENDS

NEED A TAX BREAK FOR THE NEW YEAR? CONSIDER RAISING BEES, DONKEYS, HAY OR, AS A LAST RESORT, A STINK WITH THE COUNTY ASSESSOR.TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE? FOR A SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPER SEEKING A TAX BREAK, THAT'S NO QUESTION. BUT TAXPAYERS GET STUNG.

TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS

NEED A TAX BREAK FOR THE NEW YEAR? CONSIDER RAISING BEES, DONKEYS, HAY OR, AS A LAST RESORT, A STINK WITH THE COUNTY ASSESSOR.TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE? FOR A SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPER SEEKING A TAX BREAK, THAT'S NO QUESTION. BUT TAXPAYERS GET STUNG.

What does Joe Biden like so much about the Denver Museum of Nature and Science?

Joe the Veep, not Joe the Plumber. Vice President Joe Biden sure must dig the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where he'll conduct a town-hall meeting today. He was just there in February, standing by as President Barack Obama signed the stimulus package there. Maybe it's because the facility h ... More >>

Lucy has new menu, new patio

Lucy, the restaurant that made its debut last fall when Comedy Works South opened at 5345 Landmark Place in Greenwood Village, has made some changes for spring. Just in time for the Memorial Day weekend monsoons, it opened its patio. And also last week, chef Jeff Stoneking introduced a new lunch an ... More >>

New website charts what parts of Colorado are being stimulated

A photo from the StimulusColorado.org website. StimulusColorado.org, a new website co-sponsored by Associated General Contractors of Colorado, the Colorado Association of Mechanical and Plumbing Contractors, Colorado Contractors Association, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Denver ... More >>

TABOR baby-daddy Douglas Bruce weighs in on Denver's secret tax "diversion scheme"

Over $80 million in fees has flowed from the Wastewater building The June 9 Westword feature "Down the Drain" examined how Denver officials are using funds designated for the improvement and maintenance of the city's storm-water drainage system to pay for various non-storm expenses. The investig ... More >>

Pueblo rally compares Obamacare to Pol Pot, Hitler

Another fascinating look at the healthcare "debate," this one reportedly from a Patients First rally in Pueblo, in which a speaker claims that proposed legislation would authorize "end-of-life orders" he likens to the atrocities of Pol Pot and Hitler. Does that mean federal stimulus dollars will b ... More >>

PETA protesters give Canadian-syrup boycott their seal of approval

Be careful: Bloody syrup will stain white fur.​I'm guessing the Canadian consulate in Denver, at 1625 Broadway, isn't a frequent location for major protests -- but that changed yesterday, when PETA representatives chose it as the place to complain about Canadian seal harvests. Their approach? ... More >>

Jane Norton's introduction not too mavericky

Earlier this week, ex-Congressman Tom Tancredo said former Colorado Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton, then on the cusp of formally announcing her candidacy for the U.S. Senate, wasn't "ready for prime time" and was only running because she'd been urged to do so by Arizona Senator John McCain. Since ... More >>

Dick Wadhams on Tom Tancredo's impending run for governor

Dick Wadhams isn't leading the "Run Tom" parade. But he swears he's not putting up roadblocks, either.​Yesterday, Tom Tancredo confirmed his plans to run for governor now that state senator Josh Penry has dropped out of the race. That throws a kink into frontrunner Scott McInnis' dream of a un ... More >>

Scott McInnis: Is he more politically skillful than we thought?

"Can't we all just get along?"​Political observers have spent a lot of time har-dee-har-ing at Scott McInnis over the years -- and indeed, he's made plenty of errors and gaffes during his time in the public eye. Note his prediction that fellow Republican Bob Schaffer would lose the 2008 Senat ... More >>

Throw the bums off the Colorado Supreme Court, says Clear the Bench Colorado -- and John Suthers seems to agree

ClearTheBenchColorado.org's Facebook profile picture gives you a pretty good idea where Matt Arnold's coming from.​It took the better part of a week, but Matt Arnold, the man behind ClearTheBenchColorado.org, has finally gotten the Denver Post to blink. On Tuesday, the paper published, "AG Su ... More >>

Scott McInnis "sincere" in offer to John Hickenlooper about denouncing tax legislation

"Don't you miss my mustache?"​At this hour, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis is in Pueblo to make a speech about what he considers to be job-killing tax increases on candy and other items that were passed by the Colorado senate on Wednesday. And according to McInnis spokesman S ... More >>

Former Boulderite A.K. Barnett-Hart's senior thesis has become a go-to guide to the financial crisis

"Don't you miss my mustache?"​At this hour, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis is in Pueblo to make a speech about what he considers to be job-killing tax increases on candy and other items that were passed by the Colorado senate on Wednesday. And according to McInnis spokesman S ... More >>

Medical marijuana good for Colorado Springs? "Yes," says mayor -- and so is a TABOR time-out

Lionel Rivera.​Lionel Rivera, the Republican mayor of Colorado Springs, says his city has a chance to resurrect itself from pummeling budget cuts brought on by the recession and the state's tax law that limits the city's ability to fund its coffers. The medical marijuana industry boon, among ... More >>

Freeway and Jake One at the Bluebird

Rachel Romero​ Freeway & Jake One • Mane Rok 07.22.10 | Bluebird Theater The evening began with a soulful performance by longtime LIFE Crew ambassadors, Mane Rok and DJ Tense, who performed tracks off of Mane's first solo effort, The Ugly Truth, as well as a few throwback tracks from his e ... More >>

John Hickenlooper and Dennis Gallagher proud of letting us know how feds have stimulated state

​In February 2009, Barack Obama showed up at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to sign the $787 billion federal stimulus package. Since then, anyone who has been stuck behind an army of trucks on I-25, delayed by spates of lane closures on I-70 or winced at the infestation of orange cons ... More >>

Economy to remain in crapper: CU prof Richard Wobbekind delivers bad news at NABE meeting

Richard Wobbekind.​Congratulations, CU professor Richard Wobbekind. You're president-elect of the National Association for Business Economics, whose annual meeting wraps up at Denver's Grand Hyatt Hotel today -- so you get to tell America that the ballyhooed economic recovery ain't happening a ... More >>

Jared Polis has ideas for closing federal budget gap other than legalizing marijuana -- really

Jared Polis.​Although the so-called Gang of Six's proposal for averting debt-ceiling catastrophe is getting the lion's share of attention right now, Representative Jared Polis has floated some revenue-raising ideas of his own, which the media has largely winnowed down to this: Legalizing marij ... More >>

Obama jobs plan in a nutshell: Kenny Be's Nut Graphs

​ Will President Obama's new jobs plan save the country from a double-dip recession or burden our sliding economy with another $400 billion of deficit spending? Below, an easy-to-read chart explains the president's entire economic stimulus plan in a nutshell...

Occupy Denver: Read the letters Denver's 99 percent wrote to President Barack Obama

Wikimedia Commons​Occupy Denver has launched a call-to-action in advance of Barack Obama's trip to Denver. The plan is for the president, here for a fundraiser and a jobs speech, to receive a bag of letters from the local 99 percent. Although the details of that plan are under wraps, the group ... More >>

Barack Obama should respond to ET disclosure petition in Denver, says UFOlogist Jeff Peckman

Watching the sky.​Later this morning, President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at the Auraria campus, with subjects expected to include student-loan reform. But former mayoral candidate Jeff Peckman, the man behind the failed ET affairs commission initiative, would like him to touch on som ... More >>

State spending on children decreasing while child poverty increasing, report shows

​ The amount of money Colorado spends on children is shrinking at a time when the number of children -- and the number of children in poverty -- is rising, according to a report released today by the Colorado Children's Campaign. President Chris Watney says it's disheartening to watch the safe ... More >>