The Rocky Mountain News closed down a year ago this week — on February 28, 2009 — bringing a 150-year tradition to an end. But the News’s website, complete with headlines and memories from that final day, lives on, like a creepy online time capsule. All is not lost for…
“You’re in Bad Hands,” Alan Prendergast, February 11 An Unhealthy Situation Let’s look at some numbers, shall we? Yes, Jennifer Latham won. But who else? Time Insurance denied 8,500 claims worth $150,000,000. That means the average denied claim was for about $18,000. Now Time Insurance is paying Jennifer $37 million. That means it…
This week’s Westword cover story is a cartoon by Kenny Be, who examines the race to become Colorado’s next governor. Read it on the Latest Word…
Westword is covering the trial of Willie Clark, accused of murdering Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams early on New Year’s Day 2007. The most recent updates for the day will be at the top; to check out the account chronologically at day’s end, read from the bottom up. And click…
Terry Ryan, the lawyer for the Windsor-based Rocky Mountain Gun Owner’s club, said today he is filing a lawsuit against Colorado State University after its governing board voted unanimously Tuesday to ban guns from its two campuses. Affirming promises made earlier this month at a small-caliber news conference (see the…
After years of fizzled efforts, Colorado may be close this year to legislation that could reduce slammer-oriented penalties not only for marijuana possession but small quantities of other drugs. Better yet, as this Denver Post article details, the anticipated savings from the move could fund badly needed rehab programs for…
Fans of the venerable Garry Trudeau strip “Doonesbury” who get their daily dose online know that each offering is accompanied by a feature called “Say What?” — a comically embarrassing quote from a public figure. Trudeau is best known for whacking the vernacular of conservatives like George W. Bush, whose…
Denver blog-trolling made easy. Nate Timmons at Denver Stiffs reports that even though Nuggets super-rookie Ty Lawson injured his thumb yesterday, that hasn’t stopped him from tweeting. Thank goodness for that. Former Rocky Mountain News media critic Jason Salzman, writing at BigMedia.org, thinks that the Denver Post is giving Republican…
Medical marijuana advocate Rob Corry has made ripping up proposed medical marijuana legislation a specialty. Back in January, he eviscerated Senator Chris Romer’s first plan line by line — and did likewise to Romer’s bill attempting to codify the relationship between doctors and medical marijuana patients. And in an interview…
During day one of testimony in the Darrent Williams murder trial, Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall was mentioned numerous times by John Sheppard, a Williams friend from Texas who joined BM and other Broncos at a New Year’s Eve club outing that turned fatal. But Sheppard made just as many…
Has the Denver Police Department suddenly turned into wannabe judges on Project Runway? Probably not, despite putting out a clarion call for the public to be on the lookout for a “Well-Dressed Thief.” Unfortunately, the DPD doesn’t go into more detail than that. So we don’t know if the wallet-and-purse…
Kenny Be’s Sign Language: Kidrapreneurs are banking on Denver’s playhousing market. The “For Rent” sign in front of a child’s playhouse pictured above means that the economy is faring a lot better than we thought. Or a lot worse. At the very least, it suggests that today’s kids are extremely…
Earlier this month, Safeway and King Soopers workers ratified a new contract — most of them, anyhow. But a vote last night by Safeway meat workers in Salida finally put a period on nearly a year’s wroth of bickering and strike threats. Now, as noted on the United Food and…
Editor’s note: This week’s Westword cover story is a cartoon by Kenny Be, who examines the race to become Colorado’s next governor. Round One: Jobs and the Economy Don’t let the McInnis vs. Hickenlooper wrestling match get you down. The Colorado governor’s race is still an eight-candidate contest! Each candidate…
Last week, reporter Joel Warner told you about marijuana advocate Mason Tvert’s call for removal from the Denver Marijuana Review Panel of fellow member Lieutenant Ernie Martinez, head of the Colorado Drug Investigators Association. Martinez’s sin? He wrote a 2006 letter comparing marijuana legalization to cancer. Mayor John Hickenlooper, who…
When big news like yesterday’s shootings at Deer Creek Middle School breaks, a growing number of people turn to social media, even though that medium isn’t always reliable. For every positive online development, like the launch of a Facebook page celebrating hero Dr. David Benke, there were false rumors about…
As I mentioned in my earlier blog about the shootings at Deer Creek Middle School, my daughters, who attended there three short years ago, studied math under the tutelage of Dr. David Benke, who’s credited with tackling gunman Bruco Eastwood, likely preventing much more bloodshed. As such, they eagerly signed…
Journalists can write about many events dispassionately, but not all — and for me, there’s no chance in hell of tackling the topic of the shootings yesterday afternoon at Deer Creek High School with distanced objectivity. All three of my children attended Deer Creek. My twin daughters went through a…
Westword is covering the trial of Willie Clark, accused of murdering Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams early on New Year’s Day 2007. The most recent updates will be at the top; to check out the account chronologically at day’s end, read from the bottom up. 6:19 p.m.: Denver police Detective…
Thank goodness Lamar Advertising is safeguarding the morality of Colorado Springs residents. Otherwise, chaste locals might be caught in the embarrassing situation of sprouting an erection caused by a puppet. Granted, that puppet, a character from the play Avenue Q, is named Lucy the Slut. But even though her cleavage…
You’ve heard about goons who disguise themselves as police officers to make doing nasty business easier, right? Well, the men and women of the Westminster Fire Department are afraid someone with a taste for high-grade narcotics may try something similar while wearing stolen firefighters duds. The WFD reports that two…
Three blogs with a little Denver flavor. John Reidy, one of Colorado’s most consistently funny bloggers, takes on the Tiger Woods apology at South Stands Denver, concluding, “At least didn’t find Jesus Christ like Fox News jerk Brit Hume suggested.” If he had, of course, he probably couldn’t have kept…
