Get your fake moon rocks here

Been looking everywhere for realistic representations of the lunar surface? Look no more. Zybek Advanced Products, a Boulder-based firm just chosen for assistance by a University of Colorado-affiliated nonprofit dedicated to promoting space-industry entrepreneurship, has built “a full-scale plasma processing facility… used for manufacturing high-volume glass and mineral materials,” including…

Selling Denver’s Wells Fargo Center

Today’s online Wall Street Journal features an unusual story about Denver’s Wells Fargo Center, whose owner, an Australian real-estate investment firm called Macquarie Office Trust, has been trying to peddle it since earlier this year. The piece isn’t about a sale but a possible sale. Sources cited by the Journal…

About-to-be-remodeled DIA winning awards just the way it is

Officials at Denver International Airport recently floated ideas about an ambitious redesign of the facility’s terminal — although none of them were as interesting as those envisioned by Westword’s own Kenny Be. (Take a gander at his notions here, here and here.) In the meantime, Fentress Architects, the original airport’s…

Boulder’s Lou Barnes on the “stupid” credit market

Got iffy credit? Then don’t hit up Boulder West Financial Services. In recent days, Lou Barnes, one of the firm’s owners, was quoted saying this in a recent New York Times article about tight mortgage rules: “The credit pendulum is stuck at ‘stupid.’ I am turning down loans every day…

Grocery-workers union recalls Soopers’ first King

The contract dispute involving workers at King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons has been quiet of late, with United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 7 seeking to maintain member loyalty during this period via releases about, for example, pension reductions that would go into effect if the store’s latest…

Expert to Frontier’s new owner: Don’t go changin’

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert D. Drain’s approval yesterday of Republic Airways Holdings’ plan to purchase Denver-based Frontier Airlines was widely expected and went according to Hoyle — and while other bidders can step forward in the next thirty days, you can bet none will. Now, the clock is running…

Louisville’s lack of eco-hipsters makes it number one

The home page of the Chamber of Commerce in Louisville is out of date. At this writing, it declares the community to be “The # 3 Best City to Live in the United States.” However, CNNMoney.com has just declared the burg to be number one on a list of America’s…

Pet Airways coming to Denver when pigs (and dogs) (and cats) fly

As if flying isn’t already unpleasant enough, here’s a new development to dread: Airlines are increasingly amenable to letting pets fly in the main cabin as opposed to the cargo area. Meanwhile, a new venture called Pet Airways, which will specialize in transporting Fido and Fluffy from point A to…

Union attacks pension cuts in latest grocery-chain contract offer

The past few days have been relatively quiet ones in regard to the continuing standoff between union-represented grocery workers and chains such as King Soopers and Safeway over a new contract. However, the latest entry on the Twiter feed linked to AlwaysHereForColorado.com, a site launched by the United Food and…

Michael Jackson’s death helping Denver’s economy, too

Although Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz may not be adding to his bankroll as a result of Michael Jackson’s death, folks associated with Denver International Airport stand to make a few extra bucks. A report posted on the U.K.-based Cheapflights website notes that so many Brits are flying to L.A. for…

Michael Jackson memorial: More money out of Phil Anschutz’s pocket

The throng already descending on Los Angeles this morning to attend the Michael Jackson memorial service is being estimated in the seven-figure range, and as the Los Angeles Times notes, their presence is expected to give the city’s tourist industry a multi-million-dollar boost. But while hoteliers, memorabilia sellers and plenty…

The legacy of the Michael Jackson-Crystal Cartier lawsuit

While TV networks aplenty have rehashed the late Michael Jackson’s various legal battles over child-molestation allegations, they’ve neglected his early ’90s court appearance in Denver, when he defended himself against accusations from singer-songwriter Crystal Cartier that the title track of the 1991 album Dangerous ripped off her 1988 tune of…

A closer look at MediaNews Group’s debt

When the Rocky Mountain News was put up for sale in December (a move that prefigured its February closure), employees clinging to hopes of a last minute reversal of fortune repeatedly pointed to the debts burdening MediaNews Group, owner of the Rocky’s rival, the Denver Post. Because MediaNews, chaired by…

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…