Local immigrant advocates aren’t exactly elated at the news that the Obama administration plans to phase out a controversial program that allows local law enforcement to act as immigration officers. “At the end of the day, there’s another elephant in the room,” says Justin Valas, of the Colorado Immigrant Rights…
Last year, the city powers-that-be changed the rules to allow overnight parking downtown. But the much-celebrated change came with an equally frustrating dose of confusion, as explained in our cover story, “Feed Me.” Now, the team of city employees who helped sort out that confusion has won a Denver 5281…
Local filmmaker Daniel Junge was a big winner last night, snagging an Oscar for his documentary, Saving Face. But before the crowd at the Denver Film Society’s Oscar Night America party erupted in cheers, movie lovers gave a round of applause to Representative Tom Massey, who won the Governor’s Hall…
News that Disney plans to film a remake of The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer (who played the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network) as the Ranger, in Colorado bucks the trend of filmmakers abandoning the state for cheaper locales — a trend lawmakers are…
In which counties are Colorado children at the most risk? The Colorado Early Childhood Needs Assessment, a just-released report, answers that question via reams of data on infant and child deaths, child poverty numbers and high school dropout rates. So how does Denver measure up?…
The Harm Reduction Action Center has a new home, in a storefront at 733 Santa Fe Drive, and a new program: the city’s second legal syringe exchange, something the nonprofit has advocated for for years. “It’s been 21 months since Governor Ritter signed this into legislation,” says director Lisa Raville…
Gay advocacy group One Colorado has started an online petition to fight against what it calls “scare tactics” by Catholic Charities, whose reps testified at the Capitol last week that if lawmakers legalize civil unions, it may stop providing adoption and foster care services. Why? Because civil unions could lead…
At the first-ever Teen Dating Violence Awareness Rally today, Mayor Michael Hancock took the mike and told a story about what he called “the Chris Brown and Rihanna situation.” One day, his teenage daughter and her friends were watching the former on television and, in Hancock’s words, going “goo-goo, gaa-gaa.”…
If Colorado lawmakers pass a bill to legalize civil unions, the state could see a bump in its bank account — $4.8 million in the first three years, according to a report by the California-based sexual orientation think tank The Williams Institute. That money would come from a combination of…
The University of Denver has unveiled the logo for the first presidential debate, to be held at DU’s Magness Arena on October 3. The university also launched a website today dedicated to the debate, which includes a countdown ticker: 226 days to go. One thing it doesn’t include? Ticket information…
State officials have a new plan for improving Colorado’s child-welfare system, one that will beef up training for caseworkers, make data about child deaths more readily available, and employ a “common practice approach” in all 64 counties — an idea that hasn’t gotten far in the past, as explained in…
Hollywood is coming to Colorado (again)! In the midst of a push by movie boosters to increase the state’s film incentives, an initiative born of the fact that filmmakers have largely abandoned the state for cheaper locales, word comes down that Disney will shoot part of a remake of The…
A bill to increase Colorado’s film incentives has won its first victory, passing the House Economic and Business Development Committee by a vote of nine to three. Though the victory celebration came up short when compared to the exhausted jubilation at the end of the best movie ever, Rocky, the…
The turmoil continues at the Ricardo Flores Magon Academy charter school in Westminster, the subject of our recent cover story, “A Hard Line.” Facing two lawsuits and many more complaints, the school has now (at least temporarily) lost its leader, about whom many of the complaints were made. While principal…
Colorado is no Hollywood, but the state does have a rich film past, if not an active film present, as detailed in our cover story “The Reel West.” Today, in an effort to jump-start the state’s movie business, lawmakers will debate a plan to increase incentives for filmmakers to shoot…
The Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office does not mess around when it comes to love. They love love. They love it so much that they converted their bland beige conference room — known today as the “Sweetheart Bistro” — into an explosion of shiny red hearts, Cupid-shaped confetti and fake…
Colorado has starred in hundreds of movies — and more recently, watched as filmmakers pass up the Centennial State for cheaper locales, even if their films are set here. (Thanks for nothing, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.) But lawmakers and industry folks have a plan to change that, a plan that…
Colorado has a rich film history. Nearly 400 movies have been shot here in more than 100 years. But, as explained in this week’s cover story “The Reel West,” Colorado is experiencing a bit of a film drought lately, something that lawmakers and industry folks hope to reverse. Instead of…
The so-called “Local Foods, Local Jobs Act,” a bill sponsored by state senator Gail Schwartz that would allow small growers and producers to sell their goods directly to consumers, has passed the full Colorado Senate. It now heads to the House, which recently passed a similar bill, sponsored by embattled…
Once upon a time, lots of movies were filmed in Colorado. The first was an 1897 flick called Festival of Mountain and Plain. One of the last was a 2009 Eddie Murphy movie, Imagine That. In between, there were scores of hits and classics that showcased the state’s scenic beauty…
On a small stage on the steps of the Capitol this morning, surrounded by more than a hundred local film industry folks, House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino ticked off movies made in Colorado: City Slickers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and one he called “the seminal piece of film…
Ethan Hemming, charter school whiz and former interim executive director of the Charter School Institute, is no longer interim. The institute’s board of directors has made him the official executive director and head of an organization in the process of righting itself after several things went wrong, as explained in…
