Colorado Avalanche season opener is tonight! Oh, never mind….

The Colorado Avalanche was scheduled to open the season against the St. Louis Blues tonight at the Pepsi Center. But thanks to the NHL’s failed attempt to resolve its collective bargaining issues, the first two weeks of games have been cancelled amid the current lockout. If the NHL can suddenly…

Lamar coal plant faces possible civil penalties, customer revolt

The news keeps getting worse for a coal-fired power plant in Lamar that was supposed to provide cheap electricity for southeast Colorado. Already a target of criticism for cost overruns, operational failures and pollution concerns, the project recently suffered a major setback in federal court that could subject the plant…

Fracking-regulations battle on federal lands heats up

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is on record as saying that hydraulic fracturing methods to extract oil and gas “can be done safely,” but he’s not overly impressed with varying state rules overseeing the drilling process. He’s been pushing in recent months for his department to tighten its requirements…

Photos: Gates preservation bid rejected by landmark commission

College student Eugene Elliott’s campaign to save remaining buildings at the old Gates Rubber factory on South Broadway from demolition, the subject of last month’s feature “Trouble in the Rubble,” has failed to impress Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission — which voted 9-0 yesterday not to recommend landmark status for the…

Ex-client sues lawyer Chad Hemmat over “toothless cooties” case

The law firm of Anderson, Hemmat & Levine doesn’t keep its light under a bushel. Commercials and billboards across the Front Range boast of how hard the personal-injury firm fights for its clients. The AHL website proclaims that “Justice for Victims Begins Here.” But a disgruntled former client is seeking…

Video: The art and mischief of Justin Simoni

Denver gonzo athlete Justin Simoni’s singular achievement this summer in the Tour Divide, a 2745-mile mountain bike race that crosses the Continental Divide 39 times between Canada and Mexico, is the focus of this week’s feature, “Going to Extremes.” But cycling is only one of Simoni’s multiple and oddly linked…

Albus Brooks leads a trip to Nairobi, Denver’s sister city

Denver has ten sister cities, each with its own customs and priorities. Among them is Nairobi, Kenya. City Councilman Albus Brooks, so much a fan of Kenya that he named his daughter after the nation, recently led a trip of Manual High School students (and one teacher), plus private sector…

Galvanize announces [i4c] winners at Summit

Schmoozing and boozing — that was the scene at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House last Friday just before the ten finalists of Galvanize’s [i4c] campaign, a city-specific initiative to grow socially and environmentally impactful startups through capital, community and curriculum, would be judged Shark Tank-style, with just three winning the…

Video: Tiny documents big dreams in mini-house movement

For a lesson in living large, look no further than Peyton Manning’s new Cherry Hills Village digs, a modest 16,000-square-feet pied-à-terre, snapped up for a mere $4.57 million. But a new documentary from a Colorado couple, charting their quest to build their dream home — all 125 square feet of…

Aspen real estate dips despite $49 million sale of Hala ranch

One handy gauge for checking on the relative financial health of the world’s one-percenters can be found right here in Colorado — well, okay, the other Colorado, the one populated with champagne wishes and caviar dreams. And the latest figures for real estate transactions in the Gucci-padded wonderland known as…