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Get Out the Vote: What to Know About the Eight Measures on Denver’s November Ballot

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Author

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Melanie Asmar

Melanie Asmar is a staff writer for Westword. She joined the paper in 2009 and has won awards for her stories about education, immigration and epic legal battles. Got a tip? She’d love to hear it.

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Aurora theater shooting hearing, day 3: James Holmes took photos of himself dressed to kill

By Melanie AsmarJanuary 9, 2013

Editor’s note: Melanie Asmar is covering day three of the preliminary hearing into the July 20 Aurora theater shooting allegedly committed by James Holmes. Sergeant Matthew Fyles continued his testimony by displaying photos James Holmes took of himself and the future crime scene…

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Aurora theater shooting hearing, day two: Youngest victim’s story, death of a military man

By Melanie AsmarJanuary 8, 2013

Editor’s note: Melanie Asmar is covering day two of the preliminary hearing into the July 20 Aurora theater shooting allegedly committed by James Holmes. The latest update is immediately below, followed by previous coverage. Update: The majority of the afternoon session was dominated by a listing of victims by name,…

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Aurora theater shooting hearing: James Holmes’s eyes lit up, said victim’s dad

By Melanie AsmarJanuary 7, 2013

Editor’s note: Melanie Asmar is covering today’s preliminary hearing into the July 20 Aurora theater shooting allegedly committed by James Holmes. The latest update is immediately below, followed by previous coverage. January 7, 5:28 p.m.: The final portion of the hearing began with testimony by the two forensic pathologists who…

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James Holmes: Post-its in courthouse bathroom promote film that says he was set up

By Melanie AsmarJanuary 3, 2013

Accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes was in court yesterday for a short hearing to determine whether lawyers were ready to proceed with what will likely be a revealing preliminary hearing next week. (They are; the hearing starts Monday, January 7 at 9 a.m.) After the hearing, we used the…

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Aurora theater shooting: Preliminary hearing in James Holmes case to start Monday

By Melanie AsmarJanuary 2, 2013

An important hearing in the case of Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes will start Monday, January 7 at 9 a.m. This morning, prosecutors and Holmes’s defense attorneys told the judge in the case that they’re ready to proceed with the preliminary hearing, which is expected to reveal many more…

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The odor-related lawsuit continues between RiNo neighbors and the Kasel pet-treat factory

By Melanie AsmarDecember 31, 2012

Was Kasel Associates Industries, a pet-treat factory in the hip River North neighborhood, harmed by receiving an odor citation after five neighbors called to complain about the smell? No way, say the City of Denver and a neighbor whom factory owner Ray Kasel is now suing for harassment. Their responses…

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Is the smell of wood-fired pizza “obnoxious?” Il Vicino’s neighbors think so

By Melanie AsmarDecember 20, 2012

Update, 4:50 p.m.: We heard from Carol Mrzlikar, one of the neighbors upset over the smoke emitted from Il Vicino’s wood-fired oven. Continue reading for her comments. Should the smoke emitted from a wood-burning pizza oven be considered air pollution? The neighbors of Il Vicino Wood Oven Pizza on South…

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The nose knows: To be a city odor inspector, you have to have the right sense of smell

By Melanie AsmarDecember 20, 2012

All noses are not created equal. Some are too sensitive, others not sensitive enough. And to be a city odor inspector, your nose can be neither. While reporting this week’s cover story, “Raising a Stink,” which tells the tale of a RiNo factory owner who’s suing his neighbors for harassment…

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RiNo neighbors are raising a stink about factory smells in their ’hood

By Melanie AsmarDecember 20, 2012

The air smelled like a dead body, the woman said. And she isn’t the only one who thinks so. Over the past eight years, the city has received no fewer than 150 complaints about a fetid odor emanating from a brick factory at 33rd and Walnut streets that makes dog…

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“Smells like dead animals” and other complaints made about a pet treat factory in RiNo

By Melanie AsmarDecember 19, 2012

One neighbor said the air smelled like a dead body. Another described the odor as akin to the stench of “a lot of dead rodents.” Yet another said he “literally dry heaved into my mouth.” Those are just a few of the complaints made to the city’s 311 helpline about…

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Denver Nugget Kenneth Faried pukes into a towel on television during last night’s game

By Melanie AsmarDecember 19, 2012

Attention, everybody. It is flu season. Know how we can tell? Because during last night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, Nugget Kenneth Faried — the Manimal, if you will — puked into a towel while sitting on the bench. But that didn’t stop the dude from scoring nineteen points…

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DPS expulsions, suspensions down but racial disparities in discipline remain, report says

By Melanie AsmarDecember 19, 2012

Denver Public Schools is expelling and suspending fewer students than in the past, according to a new report by the group Padres y Jovenes Unidos. The number of times students are referred to law enforcement is also decreasing, though the group notes that racial disparities still exist. Black and Latino…

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Aurora theater shooting victims set up fund to raise money for Sandy Hook victims

By Melanie AsmarDecember 17, 2012

Five months after suffering their own losses, family members associated with deceased victims in the Aurora theater shooting have set up a fund to help Newtown school shooting victims, including Emilie Parker, age six, pictured here. Calling themselves VictimsFirst, the group said the money will go directly to victims’ families…

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Videos: Richard Heene, Balloon Boy’s dad, invents crazy stuff, makes crazier infomercials

By Melanie AsmarDecember 13, 2012

Ever wonder what happened to Balloon Boy? As explained in this week’s feature, “What’s Up?,” nine-year-old Falcon Heene and his family are now living an hour north of Tampa. Falcon and his two older brothers are in a metal band called the Heene Boyz and their hyperactive father is still…

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Linda Robbins cleared of animal cruelty but may still lose her beloved Lhasa Apso dogs

By Melanie AsmarDecember 13, 2012

A Colorado pet owner accused of abusing or neglecting his animals will most likely lose those animals — whether he’s guilty or not. That’s what happened to Bill Lee, a mall Santa whose reindeer were seized and whose story we told in our feature “Santa is Grounded.” And the same…

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James Holmes: Read e-mails written by him before shooting, e-mails sent to him after

By Melanie AsmarDecember 10, 2012

The University of Colorado has released 1,500 e-mails from accused Aurora theater shooter and former student James Holmes’s e-mail accounts. (They didn’t release 1,200 others, deeming them privileged.) Most of the released e-mails are mass messages, though there are a few notes authored by Holmes. CU also released e-mails sent…

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Immigration: Report says CO’s “show me your papers” law costs $13 million per year

By Melanie AsmarDecember 7, 2012

Colorado spends about $13 million a year to enforce a 2006 state law that requires local cops to report to federal immigration authorities arrestees who they suspect are undocumented immigrants, according to a report by the Colorado Fiscal Institute. Those reported to the feds spend an average of 22 days…

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James Holmes: Timeline of CU e-mails in twelve hours after shooting shows confusion, fear

By Melanie AsmarDecember 7, 2012

How did faculty and staff at the University of Colorado, where accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes was a neuroscience student, react the morning of July 20? We’ve put together a timeline of e-mails culled from the 3,800 released this week by CU. The e-mails, which you can read below,…

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James Holmes: CU releases 3,800 e-mails about him, to him and written by him

By Melanie AsmarDecember 5, 2012

Today, the University of Colorado released about 3,800 e-mails related to accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, a neuroscience student at the school who had begun to withdraw more than a month before the July 20 attack. Most of the e-mails we’ve combed through are unremarkable, but some provide a…

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Union Station to close Monday for renovations, so get a last look tomorrow

By Melanie AsmarNovember 30, 2012

Union Station will close on Monday for renovations that include a boutique hotel — part of a multi-million-dollar plan to turn the sleepy train station into a multi-modal hub. But the nostalgic among us have at least one more chance to take a last look: The DenverInfill blog and Union…

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Highland Mommies fave Stroller Strides exempt from Denver park-permit rules — for now

By Melanie AsmarNovember 27, 2012

Several years ago, the powerful Highlands Mommies put a stop to a policy that would have required private workout groups to pay for permits to operate in Denver parks. But after receiving complaints about the proliferation of such groups, Parks and Rec decided to consider the policy again. It was…

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Biker Jim on selling reindeer sausages at Christmas: Some Santas won’t eat ’em

By Melanie AsmarNovember 26, 2012

Reindeer are real animals, and the proof is on the menu at Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs, which serves the “smoky, juicy and delicious” deer between two buns for $6.50. In light of the current cover story, “Santa Is Grounded,” which tells the story of a mall Santa named Bill Lee…

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