With Solera, David Zucker may expand his green building empire

Local developer David Zucker is making a strong case to be crowned Denver’s earth-friendly answer to Donald Trump. In May 2008, Zucker’s company, Zocolo Development, completed RiverClay in Jefferson Park — a sixty-unit development that was the first residential condominium building in the state to get a Leadership in Energy…

Rodger McFarlane, R.I.P.

It’s not often that a Denverite who most locals wouldn’t recognize is the subject of a feature obituary in the New York Times. But that was the case for Rodger McFarlane, 54, who died last Friday in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. McFarlane, who committed suicide (he suffered from a…

What do “sick” Boulder Valley teachers want?

Yesterday, more than 300 teachers at Boulder Valley schools simultaneously developed illnesses that prevented them from showing up for work — and by coincidence, the Boulder Valley Education Association, the union that represents them, just happens to be at an impasse with the school district in negotiations for a new…

Businesswomen, meet other businesswomen

Thanks to our ongoing recession, businesses are under increasing pressure to merge with similar firms or even rivals — and it turns out that business organizations are feeling the heat, too. Note that the National Association of Women Business Owners’ Denver chapter, which has suffered of late from membership declines…

Brad Evans’s plan to make Denver the cruiser capital of the world

There’s a new sheriff in town, one with a mean set of handlebars. We’re not talking about a mustache. We’re talking about his bicycle. The dude in question is Brad Evans, local realtor by day and two-wheeled merry prankster by night. In 2004, Evans founded Denver Cruisers, a pedal-powered party…

Doing the math on Christo’s Arkansas River wrap

“Over the River,” the plan by husband-and-wife artists Christo and Jeanne Claude to stretch almost six miles of silvery fabric over the Arkansas River between Canon City and Salida at a cost of around $50 million, has plenty of supporters. Congressmen, college presidents, Chamber of Commerce types and sundry art…

Management, union really don’t want a grocery strike

The decision by employees at King Soopers and Safeway to keep working amid continuing negotiations with management through at least May 30 despite the fact that their respective contracts have expired indicates an understanding that striking amid an economic downturn is a worst-case scenario for all concerned. That doesn’t mean…

Bank stress puts stress on the rest of us

Wells Fargo and KeyCorp, two major banks operating in Colorado, didn’t get top marks in stress tests administered by the feds, and that makes perfect sense, since my family’s recent experiences with banking have made us plenty up-tight as well. Late last year, we were informed that our credit-card data…

Best-job-ever alert: Casa Bonita’s hiring cliff divers!

Sure, the economy’s in the crapper, the country’s auto industry is going kaput and newspapers as we know them may soon cease to exist. But here’s one example of good news: Casa Bonita is doing well enough to be hiring a new cliff diver! That’s right, the Lakewood-based bastard child…

Why did Coors Field buy the old Light Bulb Supply building?

Rockies fans will no longer have to worry about their view of the mountains from Coors Field becoming obstructed by a possible high-rise condo building. The special district that owns the baseball stadium quietly purchased the former Light Bulb Supply building at 2010 Delgany Street for $2.4 million earlier this…

Denver Blogs: The phantom “Business Community” strikes again

Blogs that might be worth reading, collected for your enjoyment. Send links our way. The very scary “Business Community” is pressuring Senator Bennet to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. (Colorado Pols) The Western Slope’s natural-gas boom is about to go bust. (Colorado Independent) Just in case the Nuggets need…

Monica Owens getting more involved in the family business

Press releases yesterday announcing Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck’s entry into the 2010 race for the U.S. Senate listed Jack Stansbery, who fronted Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s Colorado campaign, as a contact person. However, the person sending out the e-mail may actually have a higher profile: Monica Owens,…

So… you want to contact Joe Nacchio in prison?

Today’s a big day for former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio — the day when he must report to the Federal Correctional Institution in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania and begin serving his six-year insider-trading sentence. Last week, we offered Nacchio advice about how to spend his last six weeks of freedom, as well…

Go deep with genius/Domino’s pitchman Rick Rosner

One week in November 1985, the cover of Westword featured a photo of Boulder native Rick Rosner under the the headline: “Is This the Smartest Man in America?” He was wearing rollerskates and a loincloth, as Patty Calhoun recently remembered, and at the time was making his way as a…

Giving thanks for that drunk guy on the plane

My flight back to DIA last night from an extended Thanksgiving vacation was remarkably stress-free. I was flying United, which always makes me nervous (This is the airline, after all,  that once stranded me in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with a $15 meal voucher and a Best Western room with no…