Colorado Public Radio News Initiative Finally Bearing Fruit

For the better part of a year, Colorado Public Radio’s news and information branch has touted its renewed commitment to reporting about state happenings rather than simply providing a convenient platform for listeners to hear National Public Radio fare. But as noted in this January More Messages blog about forthcoming…

Denver Daisy, RIP

Leave town for a few days, and what happens? Your Denver Daisy starts pushing up daisies. As described here, my Denver Daisy — or Rudbeckia Denver Daisy, as the special plant celebrating the 150th anniversary of Denver is officially known — got off to a fast start. It germinated almost…

The Best of the Online Elite for the Democratic National Convention

DNC chairman Howard Dean recently unveiled the State Blogger Corps, welcoming 55 bloggers who represent all 50 states plus Guam, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Democrats Abroad and the District of Columbia. Selected from a pool of 400 to attend the convention in August, the State Corps will get “unprecedented”…

Chandler Romeo’s Heart Land

Rudi Cerri, the public-art administrator for the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, has organized a series of art shows over the past year at the Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. The latest is Heart Land, which features a dozen large-scale pastel drawings by Chandler Romeo…

Delegating Denver #47 of 56: Tennessee

View larger image Tennessee Total Number of Delegates: 85 Pledged: 68 Unpledged: 17 How to Recognize a Tennessee Delegate: There is no greater state than Tennessee. America’s fascination with the Volunteer state has been nothing short of all-encompassing and everlasting. Even the derogatory jokes — duct tape is “Tennessee chrome,”…

Rocky Mountain News Embraces Aging Demographic

On the average day, the third to the last page of the Rocky Mountain News’ main news section is built around a piece by one of the tabloid’s columnists — usually either Mike Littwin or Bill Johnson — or tie-ins to RockyTalk Live, an online feature moderated by Mark Wolf…

Amadeus Harlan Out of Prison and Into Jail

Amadeus Harlan, a longtime Denver con artist who used a phony story about being a Denver Broncos player to score women, fast cars and, this past fall, a $2.5 million former YMCA building in east Denver to house his sports tournament business, Harlan21, was released from federal prison this week…

Cool People Do Like Denver. Take That, Seattle!

Denver has traditionally looked up to Seattle the way a sixth-grader stares in awe at the cool high school neighbor from down the street. Unlike rock star cities like New York or London, Seattle is roughly similar in size and status to Denver, but has still managed to reach a…

Two Barbies, One Mission, One Paper

Hey kids! It’s Convertible Barbie and her friend, also named Barbie! They’re on a road trip! To a summer reading adventure! At the Denver Public Library! It’s all part of the summer reading program at DPL that attracted 31,218 young readers last year! Check out Passenger Barbie! She’s hot! Check…

Rocky Offers Staffers a Pittance for Their Homes During Convention

We’ve all heard stories about locals renting out their homes for a king’s ransom during the upcoming Democratic Party convention — and while most of them are probably apocryphal, no one doubts that there’s money to be made for comfortable lodgings during those few days in August. Rocky Mountain News…

Susan Wick at RINO

Best known as a mover and shaker on various city-related committees and boards, Susan Wick — developer Mickey Zeppelin’s longtime companion — is also an artist. In this latter role she’s had some real successes, none greater than her solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver a few years…

Shmuck of the Week

Well, it’s almost impossible to beat a disgraced cop turned body builder who is then accused by police of locking two underage teen girls in his wife’s store and paying them to have sex with each other. For Alan Prendergast’s blog on Joe Bini, click here. For previous Shmucks, click…

A Friend Indeed

Last week, Barbara Corcoran of “The Today Show” recognized Denver as one of the nation’s five friendliest cities, joining San Antonio, Texas; Nashville; Madison, Wisconsin; and Davis, California – an honor that’s nothing to sneeze at. And if someone does, Denverites would certainly say “Bless you” and offer a tissue…

Denver Health Admits Miscalculations

On Wednesday, June 4, administrators at the Denver Health and Hospital Authority admitted that they have been miscalculating the ambulance-response times of their paramedic division for the past four years. This admission came in the wake of a Westword investigation which revealed that Denver Health’s ambulance system was failing to…

Letters to the Editor

“A Cut Above,” Jason Sheehan, May 22 Something’s Fishy Jason Sheehan, your pseudo-review of Sushi Katsuya manifests your persona as a self-aggrandizing, pretentious foodie-poseur. Did you know that irashaimase is the customary greeting at practically all places of business in Japan? That’s right, even at McDonald’s. Everyone in Japan greets…

Hart Bypass

Former senator Gary Hart, who might have been elected president in 1984 were it not for superdelegates of the sort that Democratic candidates have lusted after for months, announced his support for Senator Barack Obama way back in January. But in an extended Q&A accessible at blogs/westword.com/demver, he concedes that…

Insomnia’s Not So Funny

Sunday nights are bad for me. Maybe it’s because I stay out till God knows when on Fridays and Saturdays chasing after God knows what. Or maybe it’s just typical American dread. Monday morning, back to school, back to the office, back to reality. Whatever it is, I’m never able…

The Construct Pirates Community Radio

In 2004, Jeremy Gregory’s photo appeared in these pages — but most readers didn’t know it. Back then, Gregory and two associates had set up a fundraiser intended to help revive Capitol Underground Radio, an unlicensed enterprise typically described as a pirate station. Because the Federal Communications Commission takes a…

Delayed Emergency Response

Michael Hancock got the call at 6:30 a.m.: His sister had been shot. Hancock lived less than five minutes away, and when he screeched to a halt on a quiet neighborhood street in Montbello, he saw his sister, 41-year-old Karen West, in the driver’s seat of her SUV. “I walked…

Star Wars

As the world now knows, a man named Jeff Peckman is fighting to get an initiative on the November ballot calling for the formation of an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission in Denver — which would deal with any problems that might arise should a group of day-tripping ETs decide to stop…

Speak Out

“Cor ad cor loquitur” should be the motto of the Denver Speaker’s Corner, says June emcee, City Auditor Dennis Gallagher, citing the Roman adage “heart speaks to heart.” It’s certainly fitting for this open forum, where participants can air their political views in three-to-five-minute ad hoc speeches. Held in Civic…

Joe Bini’s Squalorous Fall

Maybe it was all a misunderstanding. Like the bad address on the search warrant. Like the dead Mexican. But Joseph Bini, the former drug warrior who orchestrated a disastrous no-knock raid nine years ago that still haunts the Denver Police Department, is back on the wrong side of the headlines…