Opening arguments in transgender murder trial expected today

Jury selection continues this morning in the trial of the man accused of killing Angie Zapata, a transgender teenager who was beaten to death last year in her Greeley apartment. Opening arguments are expected to begin this afternoon. Westword will be blogging throughout the trial. Check back for updates. Yesterday,…

Jury selection underway in Angie Zapata transgender murder case

Jury selection is underway in the trial of the man accused of killing Angie Zapata, a transgender teenager. Allen Andrade, 32, is accused of beating Zapata to death in her Greeley apartment after finding out that she was biologically male. According to Weld County court spokeswoman Karen Salaz, about 150…

Denver’s Leopold Bros. distillery gets mad props

The Leopold Bros. distillery in Denver got a shout-out in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. Columnist Eric Felten, author of the weekly column “How’s Your Drink?”, called its gin the best of the new, craft-distilled American gins trying to give well-established British gins a run for their money. Here’s an excerpt…

Task force unveils plan for city rec centers

The city’s Recreation Center Task Force has unveiled its final recommendations in a nine-page document that outlines a long-term plan for Denver’s 29 recreation centers. The doc, released late last week, differs from previous drafts in a few key ways, according to Denver Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Jill McGranahan. After…

Two more local Starbucks bite the dust

Two more area Starbucks shops will close as a result of the company’s latest round of cutbacks: one at 7777 East Hampden Avenue at Tamarac Square and another at 5350 South Santa Fe Drive in Littleton. The frappucino magnate announced this week that it will be closing nearly 200 U.S…

Transgender murder trial starts next week in Greeley

Jury selection in the trial of the man accused of killing Angie Zapata, a transgender teenager beaten to death last summer in Greeley, starts Tuesday in Weld County. State anti-violence and gay-rights groups are using the occasion to raise awareness about hate crimes and spread the word about Zapata, an…

Did Governor Ritter flip-flop on needle exchange?

Listen to . Colorado lawmakers last tackled the legalities of syringe exchange — the topic of this week’s feature “Ahead of the Needle” — eleven years ago, when they tried to change the state law prohibiting it. They failed. But not before Governor Bill Ritter, then Denver’s district attorney, weighed…

The Denver Post‘s giggle-worthy fart story

The Denver Post is a little late to the fart party. Today, the Post had a story about the court battle between two Apple iPhone app creators — one of them based in Loveland — over the phrase “pull my finger.” The same story was covered by other local and…

If you’re looking to build an office building, read this blog

What’s that? You want to build an $8.3 million, 51,000-square-foot office building somewhere along the Front Range? And you’re wondering about building permit fees and estimated plan approval times in various cities and counties? Why, it’s your lucky day! Colorado State University has released the obviously-titled “Colorado Front Range Comparative…

How I accidentally celebrated St. Patrick’s Day

I’m not Irish. Not even close. In fact, I’m so not Irish that I usually forget it’s St. Patrick’s Day until I’m reminded by a storefront four-leaf clover or beer specials or something. So it’s a total coincidence that I wore a bright green shirt today. Walking down Broadway at…

Lend your vacuum at your own risk, Denverites

While searching for the text of a certain Colorado law completely unrelated to inter-neighbor vacuum cleaner loan, I stumbled across a website which featured exactly that. DumbLaws.com is pretty much what it sounds like: a website that catalogs dumb laws in all fifty states, including this law, purportedly on the…

The Real World of Jared Polis, courtesy of CNN

Freshman Boulder Congressman Jared Polis caused a stir yesterday — both locally and nationally, it seems — when the Denver Post reported that he told a progressive political group on Saturday that bloggers killed the Rocky Mountain News, an act he hailed as “mostly for the better.” Now, we could…

Only in 21st-century America: Warring fartlords head to court

There’s a flatulence flap a-brewin’ in Denver’s U.S. District Court. Loveland-based software developer InfoMedia, Inc. — creator of the Apple iPhone app iFart Mobile — has asked a judge to rule that it can use the phrase “pull my finger” in its marketing without infringeing on the trademark of another…

New York Times calls play about Colorado Springs “inquisitive”

The New York Times yesterday published a review of This Beautiful City, a play about Colorado Springs that, in the words of the New York-based theater troupe that performs it, “explores the Evangelical movement and its unofficial U.S capital.” The Times praised the documentary play, which is based on interviews…

Gamer’s day in court postponed while other gamers LOL

There’s no word yet on whether a boisterous game of PlayStation will lead to a criminal record for Sean Duffy. Duffy, a 38-year-old former emergency medical technician, was arrested by the Aurora police in December after they responded to his apartment for a noise complaint. They claim Duffy violently resisted…

Swastika Guy was out and proud at anti-stimulus protest

In today’s Rocky Mountain News, FOX News contributor Michelle Malkin claims she didn’t realize she posed for a photo with a man holding a swastika-bearing sign at an anti-Obama stimulus bill protest Tuesday outside the State Capitol in Denver. Malkin suggests to Rocky reporter David Montero that “Swastika Guy,” as…

Denverite to Obama: Hope you don’t fuck it up

About a week after Barack Obama was elected, conservative Denverite Dave Griebling set in motion a T-shirt idea that he says had been percolating since last August’s Democratic National Convention. Riffing off Shepard Fairey’s famous HOPE design, Griebling came up with his own catchy slogan: HOPE You Don’t Fuck It…