What passes for life inside the Colorado State Penitentiary didn’t suit Kevin Fears and Timothy Russell. So both inmates put an abrupt end to their long sentences — by killing themselves. At the state’s supermax prison, prisoners spend 23 hours a day in their cells and are shackled when escorted…

Sprinting through a light agenda in a matter of minutes, the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners seems eager to adjourn its weekly meeting. But first there’s the pesky matter of public comment — now restricted to the first Tuesday of every month, the better to keep a certain loudmouth…

The drive for wind power in Colorado got an unexpected boost this month after Xcel Energy announced it was seeking 30 percent hikes in electricity rates because of higher prices for natural gas. (This week, Xcel stated it would seek only a 19 percent increase.) For the first time, the…

It’s an annual rite of fall, right up there with hot cider, Columbus Day trash-talking and Mike Shanahan’s vow to take one game at a time. Between the time the first aspen turns and the probable Halloween slush storm, you can count on Xcel Energy to announce a humongous hike…

I am surrounded by hundreds of plastic shoes. They are big and absurd and vaguely sinister, like boxing gloves designed by Crayola. They come in a riot of brutally cheerful colors usually reserved for daycare centers and Popsicles: lime, pink, purple, red, chocolate, fuchsia, coral, emerald, sage, pearl white, canary…

For 28 years, Bobby Maxwell crunched big numbers for the government. He wielded a calculator with patience and determination for the Minerals Management Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior responsible for collecting royalties on oil, gas and mineral leases on federal lands, Indian reservations and offshore waters…

Todd Hennis is not the sort of man to underestimate the dangers of wandering solo through an abandoned mine. The first time he went into the Mogul, a once-thriving gold mine high in the San Juans above Silverton, he took a professional crew from Utah with him to do an…

When all hell broke loose last year at the Crowley County Correctional Facility, a private prison on Colorado’s eastern plains, Vance Adams stayed very, very quiet. From his cell door, Adams could see prisoners armed with weight bars running in and out of his unit, smashing windows, busting up plumbing,…

In 1975, Colorado freshman congressman Tim Wirth got it into his head to seek a seat on the House Telecommunications Subcommittee. It wasn’t considered a glamorous assignment, but the young Democrat had a keen interest in the cable-television industry, an emerging force spearheaded by Denver mavericks such as Bill Daniels…

1. FORGET THE PAST They laid Ma Bell to rest in Denver last month, on the last day of the second quarter of the fiscal year. She was a sick old gal, but nobody could agree on the cause of death. Rot and parasites had been eating away at her…

When postal carrier Tim Ramsey bought his home on Ford Street in north Golden nine years ago, he knew he was acquiring a special slice of local history. The house had once belonged to prominent developer Joseph Mayford Peery, and in 1971 Peery had given four acres directly south of…

Here is something Moises Carranza-Reyes wants you to know right off: He has never been charged with a crime, in this country or in his native Mexico. Yes, he did enter the United States without an invitation in 2003. So did an estimated 300,000 other Mexicans. Carranza-Reyes knew that some…

1. BORN ON THE MOON On mourra seul, Pascal wrote. We shall die alone. But some die more alone than others. In Denver, if you die unexpectedly, unattended by doctors or relatives, your death becomes a matter for inquiry by the Office of the Medical Examiner. And if you manage…

Suppose you’re the warden of a women’s prison. Among your valued employees is a correctional officer named Dave, whose job puts him in charge of dozens of female inmates for long, lonely nights. Dave is a popular guy among his colleagues. But there’s also something odd about him. One day…

A wide red line runs across the floor of the visiting room like a clown’s grin, separating the guard post and the civilian exit from the rest of the place. Prisoners are forbidden to cross that line. Joseph Principe stays way, way clear of the line. The last thing he…

Spam king Scott Richter has never been accused of thinking small. Even his company’s bankruptcy promises to be big, big, big — real big. Last month, the wacky saga of Richter’s e-mail marketing company, OptInRealBig, entered a new chapter: Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Although the Westminster-based company has little actual…

Taking the oath of office can be a solemn moment in the life of a public servant. For William G. Myers III, a longtime lobbyist for grazing and mining interests, the occasion was an excuse for a corporate bash. On October 4, 2001, Myers attended a reception in his honor…

Inmates who joined in a hunger strike at the Colorado State Penitentiary last month were hoping their protest would attract a media feeding frenzy — and put pressure on officials to modify harsh conditions at the state’s supermax prison. Instead, they just got hungry. The official story of the strike…

5:55 a.m.: 7600 Broadway They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway…but right before dawn, on the hillside where Broadway begins, the only lights are a hint of orange and pink on the horizon to the east, the beacons of a convenience store a few blocks down the two-lane…

The prosecutor asked for thirty years. Probation officials suggested 24. Under Colorado law, the minimum sentence for knowing and reckless child abuse resulting in death is sixteen years in prison. Last week, Alamosa District Judge John Kuenhold decided to split the difference. He gave Krystal Voss twenty years for causing…

Suzanne Shell raises chickens in rural El Paso County. It’s not the world’s most exciting job, but Shell’s other pursuits — which include working as an author, journalist and documentary producer, running a contentious website called ProfaneJustice.org, offering her services as an expert consultant to parents accused of abusing and…

Back in 1948, David Morison set out with a buddy to climb Pyramid Peak, a fourteener in the heart of the Elk Range, west of Aspen. His friend brought along a funny-looking camera with two lenses, spaced about as far apart as the eyes in your head. The climb was…