The Aspen Times

Mark McCarron ID'd as victim in Vail avalanche, anger over marijuana mention

On Friday, we reported about the tragic death of a snowboarder in an avalanche near Vail Pass; see our original coverage below. The victim has now been identified as Mark McCarron, 38, of Westminster. As part of its original release, the Eagle Police Department noted that McCarron and friends accom ... More >>

Jeff Walker, missing skier: Gun found with body suggests he committed suicide

Update: Yesterday, we reported that a body was found in an out-of-bounds area of Aspen Highlands and is presumed to be Jeff Walker, a skier who'd been missing since March 7; see our previous coverage below. As if this news wasn't heartbreaking enough for Walker's friends, family members and loved o ... More >>

Natalie Egleston skiing death: No charges in collision that took her life on Aspen Mountain

Earlier this month, we told you about the skiing accident that took the life of Natalie Egleston, a Philadelphia-based executive, during a visit to Aspen Mountain. She was struck by another skier, subsequently identified as Virginia Chen, age 53. The district attorney with jurisdiction in Aspen inv ... More >>

Cycling: Should Denver consider a yield-stop law?

Earlier this month, news broke that Aspen is considering a yield-stop cycling law -- meaning that bicyclists would be legally allowed to yield at a stop sign as opposed to completely halting. At least two other mountain communities -- Breckenridge and Dillon -- have similar yield-stop laws. But wou ... More >>

Year in Review: The strangest people and events of 2012

See also: Year in Review: The 2012 Hall of Shame

Michael Hawkins and James Ward, alleged schmucks, busted thanks to Find my iPhone app

Pretty much everyone in these United States understands that smartphones are essentially tracking devices. Even photos taken with them include GPS coordinates, as fugitive antivirus king John McAfee learned when authorities tracked him down in Guatemala this week. An iPhone led to the busts of Micha ... More >>

Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland takes ABC challenge, releases tax returns after bashing Romney

Put up or shut up. After a group of Democratic leaders staged a press conference last week to demand that Mitt Romney release more of his tax returns, ABC News asked the group if they would make public their 1040s, too. Several refused to do so -- but not Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland, whose tax posture ... More >>

Aspen real estate dips despite $49 million sale of Hala ranch

One handy gauge for checking on the relative financial health of the world's one-percenters can be found right here in Colorado -- well, okay, the other Colorado, the one populated with champagne wishes and caviar dreams. And the latest figures for real estate transactions in the Gucci-padded wonder ... More >>

Lauren Redfern, ex-coach: Sex with student charge dropped because he was almost 18?

In February, we told you about the arrest of former Basalt High school basketball coach Lauren Redfern, accused of having sex with a student. Now, however, a plea deal is reportedly in the works for a reduced charge that would keep her off the sex-offender registry. Was the age of the student in que ... More >>

John Denver peak-naming effort still alive, says fan leading the charge

Last year, Littleton resident J.P. McDaniel's push to name the east peak of Mount Sopris after singer John Denver made national headlines -- but a story last week implied that the campaign might have reached its expiration date. Not so, says McDaniel, who stresses that her slow and steady approach i ... More >>

Basalt High schoolers' plan to beat, kidnap, starve teen breaks on Columbine anniversary

Each anniversary of the April 20, 1999 Columbine High massacre seems to bring disturbing new events -- like Earl Moore's attempted bombing of a nearby mall. This year's shocking tie-in: An announcement that a Basalt High student had been busted for an alleged plan to kidnap, beat and starve another ... More >>

Brooke Mueller, Charlie Sheen's ex, gets deferred sentence for coke possession, tantrum

When we named Charlie Sheen's ex-wife Brooke Mueller Shmuck of the Week this past December, we only knew the barest details about her arrest in Aspen on cocaine-and-assault-related charges. Does her deferred sentence in the case call this award into question? Not really judging by info from a just-r ... More >>

Medical marijuana businesses in Pitkin County are in legal limbo

A handful of medical marijuana centers in unincorporated Pitkin County are sitting in legal limbo, waiting on county authorities to move forward with regulations that the state says are necessary for the shops to stay in business.

Video: John Baker, homeless singer in Aspen, seeks TV and movie deals

Famous for its ski bums, Aspen also has a modest contingent of real bums -- although the homeless shelter downtown isn't exactly as celebrated as the haunts of the 1 percenters. But that may soon change. Fresh on the heels of the uproar over the new sociology study The Slums of Aspen, aspiring songw ... More >>

Brooke Mueller, Shmuck: Will she out-Charlie Sheen her ex in Aspen?

Brooke Mueller.​It can't have been easy to be married to Charlie Sheen: Tiger Blood just isn't the basis for a happy union. But that doesn't excuse Brooke Mueller for her #winning cocaine arrest last weekend near the Belly Up in Aspen -- the scene of another Shmucky episode just two week ago - ... More >>

Zeds Dead, but the band's biggest fan, Asa Robinson, is a shmuck

Asa Robinson really really, REALLY, REALLY wanted to go to the Zeds Dead concert in Aspen last Tuesday, so badly, in fact, that police say he called in a bomb threat to the concert venue after he couldn't buy tickets to a sold-out show. The goal of the bomb threat, it appears, wasn't to exact retrib ... More >>

Barbi Benton's oversized crib comes to MTV amid Aspen real-estate woes

Benton in '72. ​It turns out that even Aspen's elite can't escape the effects of the world recession. Smarting from the latest stock plunge, high country homeowners are also digesting today's report in the Aspen Daily News that assessed property values in Pitkin County have dropped $10 billion ... More >>

John Denver: Petition to name peak after him armed with 2,800 signatures and ready to mail

​We are one step closer to having a peak near Carbondale named after Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., who was born in Roswell, New Mexico. You probably know him as John Denver, which is the actual name the eastern peak of Mt. Sopris will take if J.P. McDaniel has her way. This week, she's report ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Nathan Benner may appeal ruling forbidding MMJ use on probation

​An Aspen judge ruled against Nathan Benner regarding his request to use medical marijuana while on probation -- but that may not be the final word on the subject. Attorney Joseph Saint-Veltri says he's discussing a possible appeal with Benner and family. And even if they don't decide to move ... More >>

John Denver: Petition to name Mt. Sopris peak for him collects over 1,600 signatures & counting

​In an April post about the John Denver Tribute Concert and Colorado Hall of Fame Induction, I conceded that JD's music triggers my gag reflex. But others feel differently about the late Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., including J.P. McDaniel, the Littleton resident behind a petition to name th ... More >>

Plastic bag ban: If Basalt leads the charge, can Aspen be far behind?

​In Colorado, degenerate urbanites are used to letting our mountain towns take the lead when it comes to killjoy environmental reforms, such as restricting the use of gas grills or parking spaces. So it figures that the green-leaning town of Basalt is proposing to get tough on plastic bag sinn ... More >>

Bambi shouldn't be picked up, hikers -- so keep your hands to yourselves

Flickr​Summer beckons in Colorado's high country, which means it's time for an annual reminder to all whose usual encounters with nature don't extend beyond a petting zoo. Pawing and picking up baby wildlife, no matter how adorable or seemingly in need of rescue, is almost never a good idea. T ... More >>

David Shefte among trio cited for throwing snowballs -- but not for calling target a "faggot"

Flickr​This weekend, David Shefte, David Trainer and Kurt Heckle learned you can get ticketed for throwing snowballs in Aspen. Crazy? Maybe -- but there were some extenuating circumstances, including the ages of the alleged attackers and the descriptive word they hurled at their victim after ... More >>

Lawsuit of the day: Aspen coffee shop sues ex-staffer for turning off espresso machine

​In the pilot episode of the cult series The Tick, the title hero promises to deliver "one steaming hot cup of justice." That's exactly what's needed in Aspen, where a coffee shop is suing a former employee for turning off the espresso machine on his last day of work.

Strange but True: The year's weirdest news stories

Khory Nathan Gagner breaks into restaurant, makes nachos, gets caught with pants down

The Aspen TimesA closed restaurant was not getting in between this man and his nachos​In an apparent last-ditch attempt to make the "Dumbest Criminals of the Year" list, an El Jebel man allegedly broke into the Fine Line Bar & Grill early Tuesday morning, stole some cash and started a fire whi ... More >>

Covering Charlie Sheen: Scrappy Aspen reporters key to the story, but often overlooked

Smile, you're in The Aspen Times.​As aggregated news and poorly sourced blogs permeate an industry once driven by a dying breed of scrappy local journalists, the little guys at the heart of the big story are often forgotten -- or worse, just plain robbed. But Rick Carroll, managing editor at ... More >>

Charlie Sheen just the latest example of Colorado's domestic-violence laws

​Charlie Sheen didn't study his Colorado legal history before he headed to Aspen for a vacation last Christmas. Three decades ago, Colorado was at the cutting edge of recognizing the dangers of domestic violence. The first battered women's shelters in the country were established here, and Co ... More >>

Denver Blogs: Without Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets blow

"If only milk could make my groin stronger."​It's okay to read Denver blogs if you're not from Denver. We won't tell. Denver Stiffs's Andrew Feinstein breaks down the good, bad and ugly of the Nuggets' 2009-2010 season's first half, noting that without Chauncey Billups, the team is "rudderles ... More >>

Charlie Sheen suddenly camera-shy, doesn't want Channel 9 in Aspen courtroom

"Who wrote this script? It isn't funny."​Charlie Sheen has made some nice coin over the years working in front of cameras. But apparently he doesn't want to do so for free -- especially when it pertains to his December 25 arrest in Aspen for allegedly threatening and assaulting his wife, Brook ... More >>

Medical marijuana isn't just for big cities anymore

A photo of Shaun Hadley and a friend, from Hadley's MySpace page.​The lack of state regulation and oversight of medical marijuana dispensaries, which spurred a raucous Colorado Department of Health hearing last month, has Durango Police Chief David Felice worried. He tells the Durango Herald N ... More >>

All Wet

Aspen gets soaked in a battle over bottled water.

Year in Review: Strange But True

From kitty cut-ups to an airline named Ted, this was one oddball year.

The Bounce-Back Kid

Professional snowboarder Chris Klug carves his way back to the top of the mountain.

Can't Buy a Thrill

Aspen's bizarre crime spree sent some of its favorite sons to prison -- and left the town wondering what went wrong.

Scenes From an Execution

SACRED GROUND

BEAT THE PRESS