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Firing Flight Attendants Who Watched an iPad May Cost United $1.5 Million

By Michael RobertsMarch 19, 2018

Despite having more than seventy years of combined experience working for United Airlines, flight attendants Ruben Lee and Jeanne Stroup were fired by the carrier for watching a video on an iPad for approximately fifteen minutes and failing to wear aprons during one flight in September 2013. But while folks at the company may have thought they’d save money by sacking two veteran employees, they were wrong. A jury has awarded Lee and Stroup $800,000 in damages, and attorney David Lane, who represents them, predicts the final tally will come close to double that amount.

Reader: Why Are We Punishing the Homeless?

By Westword StaffMarch 18, 2018

The Right to Rest bill, as it was known, died 10-3 in a committee that notoriously killed last year’s version of the bill. Advocates who testified included the ACLU of Colorado, and law enforcement agencies and city officials around the state testified against the bill.

Colorado Cannabis Caucus: First State Legislature Group of Its Kind to Launch

By Michael RobertsMarch 16, 2018

At 11 a.m. today, March 16, at the State Capitol, assorted legislators will be gathering for the introductory meeting of the Colorado Cannabis Caucus, a new group envisioned as a version of the federal Congressional Cannabis Caucus, except for state representatives. According to an executive of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which played a role in organizing the gathering, the caucus will likely be the first of its kind in any state, but it won’t be the last.

Denver Post Hedge Fund Owner Cutting Jobs to Keep 20 Percent Profit Margin?

By Michael RobertsMarch 16, 2018

Yesterday, following a layoff announcement affecting thirty newsroom employees at the Denver Post, the Denver Newspaper Guild, a union that represents 25 of those marked for pink slips, sent a message to Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that owns the paper: “Sell The Denver Post Now!” According to DNG administrative officer Tony Mulligan, this salvo was written in part because of the theory that the cuts were made simply to maintain a 20 percent profit margin sans consideration of what the damage might do to the paper’s long-term prospects.

Bringing Cinderella City Back to Virtual Life for Its 50th Anniversary

By Michael RobertsMarch 16, 2018

A half-century ago this month, in March 1968, Cinderella City opened in Englewood, and it was much more than a mere mall. An ad from the early days maintained that “Once Upon a Time…Is Now at Cinderella City,” where “Your Shopping Dreams Come True,” and for a generation of Denverites, as well as folks who traveled from all over the region to behold its marvels in person, these pitch lines were on the money. Those glory days ended with the edifice’s late 1990s demolition — but they’re set to make a virtual return. Denver designer Josh Goldstein is currently working on what he calls a “fully-detailed digital recreation of Cinderella City Mall for a Virtual Reality experience” he hopes to complete by the end of the attraction’s fiftieth anniversary year.

Right to Rest Bill Dies, Delivering a Devastating Defeat for the Homeless

By Chris WalkerMarch 15, 2018

After eight hours of emotional testimony and deliberation on Wednesday, March 15, a state House committee struck down a bill that would have protected anyone’s right to rest, sleep or eat in public with some exceptions. It was a devastating defeat for the “Right to Rest” bill’s advocates, whose similar legislative efforts last year were defeated in a scene almost identical to yesterday’s.

iHeartMedia, Owner of KOA, The Fox and More, Files for Bankruptcy

By Michael RobertsMarch 15, 2018

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of iHeartMedia represents a startling descent in fortunes for a corporation that owns more than 800 radio stations across the country, including ten of the most powerful signals in the Denver market. The firm once known as Clear Channel insists that it will be business as usual during the bankruptcy process, but its circumstances are already drastically reduced from the period around the turn of the century, when it was considered an unassailable broadcasting colossus.

Senator and Citizens Had a Shouting Match Over Oil and Gas Censorship

By Nora OlabiMarch 15, 2018

A shouting match broke out between a senator and Commerce City resident during an oil and gas-related hearing. She wanted to talk about explosions. He wanted to shut her up. Ultimately, her microphone was cut off and she was forcibly silenced. Now, a bill that would have put public health and safety over industry profits is dead.

Denver Post‘s Hedge Fund Owner Needs to Sell Paper Now, Union Says

By Michael RobertsMarch 15, 2018

Early on March 15, after yesterday’s announcement that Denver Post will lay off thirty employees, the Denver Newspaper Guild, the union that represents most staffers, published a message to Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that owns the paper: “Sell The Denver Post Now!” In addition, the DNG estimates that the number of journalists at the broadsheet will actually number fewer than fifty once the layoffs are complete.