A federal judge is still deciding whether the City of Denver’s plans for protesters at the DNC passes constitutional muster. Perhaps the largest issue is what the Secret Service likes to call the “Public Viewing Area,” a 47,000 square foot lot surrounded by a fence on the grounds of the…
Only you can prevent poo at the Democratic National Convention. Do your duty and sign the Denver Doo-Doo Accord over at the Demver blog…
People have gone crazy lately over the issue of urine and feces at the Democratic National Convention. How crazy? Well, there have been several national news stories about protesters who fear that the Denver police will use a weapon designed to cause crowds to crap themselves. Meanwhile, security officials have…
The courtroom of U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger was packed on July 29 for the all-day trial over whether the Democratic National Convention security arrangements being planned by the city and the Secret Service pass the Constitutional smell test. The lawsuit was originally filed in May by the ACLU on…
That was awkward. Unconventional Action, the anarchist DNC protest group, just held a press conference on the steps of the Denver City and County Building even as local religious and political figures, members of We Believe Colorado, were setting up for a press conference of their own. What’s a reporter…
The Secret Service has been in contact with officials from Elitch Gardens to possibly utilize the amusement park’s 300 foot observational tower as a security-watch post during the Democratic National Convention. “We still don’t know yet,” says Elitch spokesperson Megan Barber. “We’re still in discussions.” While she cannot go into…
“Ray Ruybal Made His Mark,” the Westword cover story I wrote for the July 17 issue, presents a very dim outlook on Denver’s anti-graffiti enforcement efforts from the city’s longest-serving graffiti warrior, former vandal squad detective Ray Ruybal (pictured). The article has apparently earned Ruybal much grief from within the…
Democratic National Convention, Unconventional Action, Denver, Jared Jacang Maher
Zen master attorney David Lane led a First Amendment seminar today at Denver University for a large gathering of legal disciples seeking free speech enlightenment before the Democratic National Convention. “Your right to free speech goes as far as cop’s billy club will allow,” said Lane, whose most recent client,…
Katherine Archuleta, Mayor Hickenlooper’s Senior Policy Advisor and point-person for the Democratic National Convention, poked fun at members of protest group Re-create 68 in the audience by asserting that less than a dozen protesters will show up in Denver. The statement came yesterday evening at a DNC safety forum for…
Ray Ruybal can picture the tagger’s face: shallow eyes, cocky sneer, mouth that would run almost as quickly as his legs. He refers to the tagger as a “kid,” but the guy was 35 years old — and a father of two — when Ruybal put him in jail five…
Jel and Buket laid down hundreds of tags in Denver — but the two renowned members of the TKO crew had to go back to their old stamping grounds in Los Angeles to get caught. U.S. marshals were skeptical when they received a tip that Candy “Jel” Srichandr, a graffitist…
$10 million dollars. That’s the base amount that the City of Denver plans to shell out for hundreds of extra officers from surrounding municipalities as a way to augment DPD forces during the week of the Democratic National Convention next month. The final sum will be much more since the…
Female graffiti writer Candy “Jel” Srichandr may have come up in Los Angeles, but the 29-year-old beauty certainly made her mark on the Mile High City before she was arrested this spring after nearly two years on the run. After the jump, find a clip from the War 3 graffiti…
Funk the War over at Westword’s Demver blog…
“Funk the War!” stood out amongst the signs offering kettle corn, salted nuts and burritos as Rockies fans funneled past the intersection of 20th and Blake streets on July 3. While an American flag is not an unusual sight the day before the Fourth of July, it certainly drew more…
The number 50,000 has been getting thrown around a lot by DNC protest planners. Recreate 68’s Mark Cohen has used the figure several times over the past year to estimate how many demonstrators his group could bring to Civic Center Park, while Adam Jung of Tent State (i.e. the Alliance…
Back in May when I blogged my screed “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love High Gas Prices”, the price per gallon was an outrageous $3.55. Oh, how we long for those good ol’ days! But even though the once unthinkable four bucks per gallon has sent the cost…
Here’s a sure sign that the Democratic National Convention is less than ten weeks away: local crazy John Madden has updated his sign! Westword first wrote about the relentless political sign-flier in 2005. Three months after the presidential election and five years since Bill Clinton had been president, the then-63-year-old…
DNC protest group Tent State University, standing in for the larger protest amalgam Alliance for Real Democracy, has been granted permits to host a series of large concerts in City Park from August 24-28. Parks and Recreation planners expect as many as 20,000 participants will be drawn to the free…
The Mayor’s office has announced which groups have been granted slots to utilize the designated parade route during the week of the Democratic National Convention. In May, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the city for failing to assign what path demonstrators would be able to march through downtown and…
Splitsville: The knot of protesters organizing around the Democratic National Convention got a lot more tangled Tuesday morning when a coalition of progressive groups formally presented itself as the Alliance for Real Democracy. This move deepened a division that started in May, when pacifist-leaning activist organizations and those with a…
