Politics

Marijuana at the Crossroads: Event asks if MMJ lawyers are breaking oath

According to keynote speaker and DU prof Sam Kamin, "Marijuana at the Crossroads," a Sturm College of Law symposium that starts tomorrow (see the schedule below), aims to get beyond the usual pot palaver. Sample subject: Are attorneys breaking their professional oath simply by specializing in medic ... More >>

Wil Alston, ex-Denver communications director, takes finance gig created by Michael Hancock

After six months at the head of Mayor Michael Hancock's communications staff, Wil Alston began a new position yesterday leading the same function for Denver's finance department. Hancock created the position specifically for Alston, who joined his administration in July 2011 and has long been a frie ... More >>

Mitt Romney plans CO caucus visit, Ron Paul likely, but what about Newt?

Earlier this month, Colorado Republican Party chairman Ryan Call argued that this year's Colorado Republican Caucus will mean more than ever, in part because the date was moved up to February 7. When Mitt Romney looked poised to sweep Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, this claim looked suspect ... More >>

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

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 civil wars and the oppressive policies of the former ruling military junta. In the past year, a new no ... More >>

Give ’Em Heller

Tim Tebow and Ron Paul: A point-by-point comparison

Tim Tebow.​Tim Tebow's stock as a quarterback may be falling -- ESPN's Mike and Mike have less confidence in him than any other QB in the playoffs this weekend -- but he remains a cultural lightning rod. Note that even The New Yorker's Ben McGrath is weighing in on him, albeit by suggesting t ... More >>

Reader: Honk if you support Ron Paul

​Last Friday morning, metro area highways were almost as crowded as a Republican presidential debate when supporters of Ron Paul unfurled banners, slowing traffic along the routes. And although the Colorado Department of Transportation says such advertisements are against the law, Paul propone ... More >>

Ron Paul banners on overpasses slow traffic across Denver

Ron Paul.​Shortly after Texas Governor Rick Perry invoked Tim Tebow at last night's Republican presidential debate, followers of another candidate, Ron Paul, delivered a message to Denver-area drivers -- one that may have pissed off as many of them as it inspired. Unknown Paul supporters hung ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Why did city not cite conference call about occupiers in open records request?

Michael Hancock.​Update: Westword recently received a copy of Kilmer, Lane & Newman's updated CORA request from investigator Christopher Dodd. The document is blunt: In it, Dodd references the existence of an Occupy movement-related U.S. Conference of Mayors conference call involving Mayor Mic ... More >>

Does the war between drug cartels and the Mexican government constitute another revolution?

Marijuana: 2 guvs petition feds to reclassify pot, but John Hickenlooper not ready to do so -- yet

This week, governors in Rhode Island and Washington asked the federal government to concede that marijuana has medical uses. A Colorado official is required to send a similar message by year's end -- but would John Hickenlooper consider following the lead of these fellow governors and do the deed hi ... More >>

Drug Policy Alliance backs Good Samaritan bill aimed at ending busts after 911 overdose calls

Art Way.​Art Way, who manages Colorado's branch of the Drug Policy Alliance, is currently hard at work on an intriguing piece of legislation set for introduction in the next session: a Good Samaritan bill intended to prevent those who call 911 when a friend is overdosing from being arrested fo ... More >>

Thanks Obamacare! website aims to turn partisan slur into positive term (VIDEO)

Obama caring.​The term "Obamacare" was originally conceived by opponents of President Barack Obama's health-care reforms as a way of hanging what they saw as a political albatross around his neck. But now, a group of Colorado activists have embraced the word with ThanksObamacare.org, a website ... More >>

Carol Harvey out as Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs' executive secretary

Carol Harvey.​If Thanksgiving is approaching, it must be time for another controversy at the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, which is overseen by the state's lieutenant governor. Back in 1988, then-lite guv Mike Callihan created a ruckus with his plans for a feast in a Mayflower moving ... More >>

Marijuana activists ask John Suthers to take ethics pledge after Dan Hartman criticism

John Suthers.​At noon today, Mason Tvert and other Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act backers will stage an event at Attorney General John Suthers's office. Why? Suthers feels a letter by (outgoing?) Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division head Dan Hartman published in places mulling MMJ retai ... More >>

At Mayor Michael Hancock's first public forum, education and communication issues popular

Michael Hancock​ Concerns about public education and the need to improve communication between city officials and citizens about everything from parking to park usage were hot topics this morning at Mayor Michael Hancock's first community forum. Comments such as "City personnel need to be more ... More >>

Occupy Denver asks John Hickenlooper to allow camping, invites him to general assembly

John Hickenlooper.​Earlier today, a Colorado State Patrol spokesman said the law-enforcement approach to Occupy Denver's tent city is evolving, and could be finalized soon. But rather than waiting to see how agencies might try to enforce Governor John Hickenlooper's apparent wish to end overni ... More >>

Dan Baum's book in the making, Guns Gone Wild, already has gun guys up in arms

Boulder author Dan Baum is a gun owner, and his most recent work, a companion piece to his upcoming book Guns Gone Wild that was released as a Kindle Single, makes an argument that most gun owners would seemingly support: that the AR-15 rifle is fun, a beacon of hope in a sinking gun market that doe ... More >>

National Western Stock Show: Will Aurora give Gaylord Entertainment the right to vote?

​What's next? Cows will get to cast ballots in Aurora? The Libertarian Party -- like the National Western Stock Show, an institution that got its start in Colorado -- is concerned that Aurora is about to give voting rights to a corporation: Gaylord Entertainment, the out-of-state company tryin ... More >>

Lesbian couple fights deportation: Will judge allow undocumented partner to stay in U.S.?

​ In May, we told the stories of two GLBT immigrants living in Colorado and seeking asylum to stay in the United States forever. Their stories of discrimination and abuse in their home countries tested the limits of asylum law. On Friday, another local GLBT immigrant, a lesbian woman named Mrs ... More >>

Marijuana legalization: Legalize 2012 objects to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act name

Tvert & Vicente.​The firestorm of invective at the Great Legalization Debate suggested that parties behind competing marijuana-reform measures for the 2012 ballot might not be exactly rooting for each other. More evidence: Legalize2012.com has created a guideline for reporters that objects to ... More >>

Proponents of marijuana legalization know that where there's smoke, there's ire

Marijuana legalization debate preview: Meet the advocates who'll be hashing it out

Free me.​It's fitting that Wednesday night's debate between Colorado cannabis activists has been dubbed "Round One." The event is being advertised as a "lively and friendly" debate -- but if it's as impassioned and fiery as the comments on our marijuana blogs have been, it might be closer to ... More >>

Chris Romer: Could big dog have transformed into underdog to win Denver mayor's race?

Chris Romer.​Can the big dog ever win a mayoral election in Denver? Since 1983, the victor has always been an underdog, someone who barely registered a blip on the radar five months before the first round of voting. Chris Romer was definitely the big dog in this mayor's race, and he wound up ... More >>

Scott Tipton back in ethics spotlight over use of telecommunications biz owned by his nephew

Scott Tipton.​In late May, Representative Scott Tipton apologized to the House Ethics Committee for his daughter Elizabeth's tactic of dropping daddy's name while seeking clients for Broadnet, the family-related telecommunications firm where she works. Although Tipton's staff denied that Eliza ... More >>

Scott Tipton apologizes for daughter's improper e-mails as spokesman goes after Nancy Pelosi

Scott Tipton.​Shortly after winning praise for getting the ban on the military expansion of Pinon Canyon restored, Representative Scott Tipton faces potential embarrassment over letters sent by his daughter, Elizabeth, in which she dropped daddy's name to seek business for the family-connected ... More >>

Marijuana legalization: Read eight initiatives filed for 2012 Colorado ballot consideration

Brian Vicente.​Sensible Colorado's Brian Vicente has been talking about a 2012 ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adult use here since at least this November 2009 post. But his effort to accomplish this feat is one step closer to reality now that he's submitted eight variations on a ... More >>

Aurora City Council members will earn more after they retire than on council

Duane Senn​While Denver City Council's vote to raise councilmembers' salaries continues to raise questions -- and tempers -- on the Denver mayoral campaign trail, an activist in cash-strapped Aurora has determined that retiring councilmembers there will get an even bigger payday.

Is Mexico the true home of the Tea Party?

Medical marijuana: Does U.S. Attorney John Walsh's letter signal end of federal MMJ truce?

John Walsh.​HB 1043, a bill sponsored by Representative Tom Massey and Senator Pat Steadman to clean up last year's medical marijuana regulations, seemed to be quietly moving toward passage -- but no more. A letter from U.S. Attorney John Walsh attacking aspects of the legislation call into qu ... More >>

Medical marijuana letter from U.S. Attorney worrisome to business, says Sen. Pat Steadman

Pat Steadman.​Earlier today, we shared a letter from U.S. Attorney John Walsh attacking elements of HB 1043, a bill intended to clean up aspects of last year's medical marijuana legislation. Senator Pat Steadman, who's co-sponsoring the measure with Representative Tom Massey, confesses to bein ... More >>

Chris Romer is the Lady Gaga of the mayor's race: Kenny Be's Speed Candidating

​ Ballots for the 2011 General Municipal Election are due on May 3, 2011. With less than a week left to vote and nine candidates running for Denver mayor, voters will need to keep a "cheat sheet" handy. My Speed Candidating profiles cut through the political song-and-dance to find the mayoral ... More >>

Carla Madison, Denver City councilwoman, dies after cancer battle: Colleagues pay tribute

Carla Madison.​District 8 councilwoman Carla Madison has been battling colon cancer for about two years, but the fight didn't seem to slow her down. That's why her sudden death yesterday came as such a surprise. Below, read the city's official goodbye to Madison, featuring remembrances from co ... More >>

Needle exchanges: City council approves making Denver ordinance allowing them more flexible

​Update: Last night, the city council voted 10-0 to approve amendments to the city's 1997 needle-exchange ordinance. The decision thrilled Lisa Raville, director of Denver's Harm Reduction Action Center, whose mission is to empower and advocate for injection drug users.

James Mejia: Ex-safety manager Fidel "Butch" Montoya endorses him, dumps on Chris Romer

Butch Montoya.​Former Denver Manager of Safety Fidel "Butch" Montoya is switching his endorsement in the upcoming mayoral election to James Mejia. In a strongly-worded letter e-mailed to friends Monday evening, Montoya writes that he originally intended to endorse former state senator Chris Ro ... More >>

Tom Mauser and the Fix Gun Checks Tour: Disarming lunatics isn't such a crazy idea

Tom Mauser ​Grief alters people. It can devastate and give a new sense of purpose. The murder of his son Daniel in the Columbine shootings has set Tom Mauser on a crusade against gun violence that, over twelve years, has yielded small victories and gradual change -- and plenty of blowback from ... More >>

John Hickenlooper has more fun at reunion than dealing with billion-dollar budget shortfall

Hickenlooper.​Fresh from another round of eco-devo meetings and a quick side trip to a Craig hospital to get five stitches after he bumped his head in his state car, John Hickenlooper landed back in Denver in time for a reunion party at El Diablo with campaign staffers and supporters who worke ... More >>

Gays and porn big issues in Colorado Springs elections, according to Focus on the Family

​Are gays and porn really two of the biggest issues in the upcoming Colorado Springs municipal elections? According to Focus on the Family, they are. As noted by the Colorado Springs Gazette, FOTF has assembled a candidate survey in advance of the April 5 vote -- and three of its eight questi ... More >>

Ken Simpson: A Denver mayor's race profile

Ken Simpson.​With John Hickenlooper serving as Colorado's governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor this year, and the race is wide open. To introduce you to the players, we're offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Ken Simpson. "I believe that one person can make a differenc ... More >>

Photo finish: John Fielder's photographs will spruce up John Hickenlooper's office

Can a gringo run for president of Mexico?

Doug Linkhart, Denver mayoral candidate, is pro-pot legalization & he's got Rob Corry's vote

Doug Linkhart.​The other night a pothead friend was complaining to me about the lack of any candidate he could support in the Denver mayor's race. I noted that Doug Linkhart, the Denver city councilman who tried to extend reviews on MMJ grows but couldn't muster the votes, has said he supports ... More >>

Theresa Spahn: A Denver mayor's race profile

Theresa Spahn.​With John Hickenlooper having taken office as Colorado's governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor this year, and the race is wide open. To introduce you to the players, we're offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Theresa Spahn. "I'm not an elected official," ... More >>

Bill Vidal has said he won't run for mayor, but a petition aims to change his mind

Bill Vidal.​Mayor Bill Vidal made some noise yesterday -- without calling a press conference. It might have been hard to hear over the roaring of all those rescued lions (and the media hubbub), but his recording welcoming travelers to Denver is now live on the train at Denver International Air ... More >>

Colorado's GOP hopes to strike while the irony is hot

Dick Wadhams's exit from Republican chair race to help Ted Harvey and party conservatives?

Ted Harvey.​The Colorado Republican Party didn't just lose the governor's race in November -- it also lost over a hundred bonus members of the State Central Committee, which will vote for the new party chair next month. Incumbent chair Dick Wadhams was going for that slot again -- until his M ... More >>

Bill Vidal not running for mayor -- but he does accuse John Hickenlooper of throwing tantrum

Bill Vidal.​Given how many people are running for Denver mayor, it's a relief someone has said no. But interim mayor Bill Vidal's latest statement that he won't join the race was preceded by an e-mail to supporters sent when he was considering a bid -- and its blunt language, including an accu ... More >>

Colorado immigration partnership with feds wrongly focusing on non-criminals, study says

​ A program that delegates federal immigration enforcement powers to local officers is not netting as many serious criminals in Colorado as in other states, says a study released today by the Migration Policy Institute.

Gourmet food trucks collide with confusing Denver regulations

​Gourmet food trucks were the surprise hit of 2010 -- by December, over 150 mobile food vendors had been licensed in Denver, which almost put the movement on par with the medical-marijuana dispensary business. And like dispensaries, the food trucks have been causing some headaches for the city ... More >>