Forbes dubs Phil Anschutz a “stealth media mogul”

In recent days, Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz has been in the news due to his aborted promotion of a fifty-date Michael Jackson tour — a reversal that could cost a fortune (although, frankly, Anchutz can afford to take the loss). But Forbes is taking notice of the moneybags for his…

BroncosBus looks for a miracle

Spotted: The BroncosBus in a strange, off-season hideout on shady Fairfax Street near Eighth Avenue across from Christ the King Church. The glorious orange and blue BroncosBus (“the product of a few friends’ collective love for Denver Broncos football,” according to the website, www.BroncosBus.com) can be seen at every home…

Craig readers’ free Sunday Denver Post deal at an end

Subscribers to the Craig Daily Press, the largest newspaper in Craig, a community in the state’s northwest quadrant, have regularly received a bonus: a copy of the Sunday Denver Post, delivered sans additional charge. But no more. Today, the Daily Press is telling readers that the free deal is done…

Has an imposter been tweeting as Jay Cutler?

A week ago today, we shared mixed messages about Brandon Marshall coming from Jay Cutler’s Twitter feed. Now, however, it appears that Cutler may not have been the person doing the tweeting. The account in question has now been suspended due to what’s described as “strange activity” — which probably…

Comic Ralphie May on why DIA sucks

So you thought the only thing scary about Denver International Airport was the blue Mustang of death? Not so, argues comedian Ralphie May. For him, the sheer size of the place is much more daunting. In a recent bit posted online at ComedyCentral.com, the large-and-in-charge yukster rails against the long…

J.R. Smith could get jail time over 2007 New Jersey crash

Nuggets fans know J.R. Smith as the happy-go-lucky prodigy who’s sure his every shot will find nylon whether he’s in the paint, beyond the arc or in the arena parking lot. But today, he’s facing a prospect capable of wiping the smile off anyone’s face: a jail sentence. Smith is…

Ward Churchill, HBO and an effective speech to the choir

The promo for Shouting Fire: Stories From the Edge of Free Speech made it clear that controversial professor Ward Churchill would be receiving the hero treatment in the HBO documentary — and last night’s debut of the production didn’t disappoint in that respect. The final cut allowed Churchill to essentially…

The Westword.com blog shortcut, June 29 edition

Changing channels? Today in Cafe Society: • ESPN ZONE turns off the scoreboard, blames economy. • Tonight: A symphony of food and wine at Opus. • Milking It: All-Bran Yogurt Bites. • Bad weekend for barbecue at Big Hoss, Q Worldly Barbecue. • Bye-bye, Brandon’s. • Arrivederci, Alto. • Ask…

Denver Blogs: Drilled over drilling

Rep. Laura Bradford has a pitchfork in her pantsuit, and she’s not afraid to use it. Our daily cruise through what’s decent in local blogs. What’d we miss? Tell us here. Republicans are breaking out the pitchforks over new drilling regulations. Hey, better than Palin and her shotgun. (Colorado Independent)…

Swinging helps KOA’s April Zesbaugh score… an Edward R. Murrow award

The National Edward R. Murrow Awards, doled out annually by the Radio-Television News Directors Association, are among the most prestigious in electronic journalism, and as a result, most of them tend to go to stories that tackle overtly important topics: national disasters, murder investigations and the like. So it’s something…

Oil-and-gas study ranks Colorado: We’re number fifty!

In recent days, area news outlets have reported that Colorado ranks fiftieth in these United States when it comes to places oil and gas executives would like to invest. But these stories tend to either underplay or omit entirely important context about the organization that issued the report: The Fraser…

Kenny Be’s Yard Arteology: Westwood Cher shrub

The study of neighbors through their lawn ornaments…. Figure 25. Westwood: Shaved shrub serves as shelter for Cher statuette Westwood was annexed into Denver in 1947, but it manages to maintain its country-bumpkin charms. The diagonal dissection of Morrison Road gives the neighborhood the feel of a once prosperous Midwestern…

The ideal healthcare system is in… Grand Junction?

In a report about efforts to control healthcare costs broadcast on National Public Radio this morning, Len Nichols, of the New America Foundation, an organization lobbying for reform in a wide array of areas, declared that “the ideal healthcare system” already exists in a number of places — and the…

Anti-Gym’s Michael Karolchyk on Fox News — and at Goodwill

Entrepreneur Michael Karolchyk’s Anti-Gym, a fitness center he promoted via willfully offensive ads (get details in our 2008 profile, “No Chubbies? Fat Chance”), was shuttered earlier this year by the IRS — but that hasn’t stopped Mr. K from promoting himself via the discredited venue. Earlier this month, he got…

How much will Michael Jackson’s death cost Phil Anschutz?

A lot of people stand to make a lot of money from Michael Jackson’s death — record labels, iTunes, memorabilia manufacturers and more. But don’t count Phil Anschutz among their number. The Denver-based billionaire is among the sharpest businessmen ever to call Colorado home, yet he’s all but guaranteed to…

Westword wins five AAN awards, proves paying off judges still works*

*Just kidding. Maybe. The degenerates at this humble (but glossy!) rag took home five awards at the recent Association of Alternative Newsweeklies annual conference in Tuscon, where it was decided for the 14th straight year that, yes, being free and having ads for massages and pot lawyers is still totally…