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…

Comic Ralphie May on why DIA sucks

So you thought the only thing scary about Denver International Airport was the blue Mustang of death? Not so, argues comedian Ralphie May. For him, the sheer size of the place is much more daunting. In a recent bit posted online at ComedyCentral.com, the large-and-in-charge yukster rails against the long…

Oil-and-gas study ranks Colorado: We’re number fifty!

In recent days, area news outlets have reported that Colorado ranks fiftieth in these United States when it comes to places oil and gas executives would like to invest. But these stories tend to either underplay or omit entirely important context about the organization that issued the report: The Fraser…

The ideal healthcare system is in… Grand Junction?

In a report about efforts to control healthcare costs broadcast on National Public Radio this morning, Len Nichols, of the New America Foundation, an organization lobbying for reform in a wide array of areas, declared that “the ideal healthcare system” already exists in a number of places — and the…

Swift beef recall: Beware of tainted “Butt Ball Tip”

Yesterday, Greeley’s own JBS Swift Beef Co. recalled over 41,000 pounds of meat contaminated with O157:H7 E.coli bacteria, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The stuff went out on April 21 to enterprises in Colorado and a dozen other states ranging from California to…

Frontier Airlines’ Grand Junction fly-by sadly predictable

The purchase of Frontier Airlines by Indianapolis’ Republic Airways Holdings will likely lift the carrier from bankruptcy, and that’s a very good thing. But the possibility remains that Frontier could move its corporate offices out of Denver in the sort of cost-saving tactic that’s already prompted the cancellation of a…

Grocery workers claiming victory in two legal faceoffs

Last week, King Soopers asked a federal court judge to stop United Food and Commercial Workers International Local No. 7 representatives from talking to staffers while they’re on the job — a tactic referred to in press accounts as “blitzing.” But clever terminology aside, it’s the UFCW, not the grocery…

Denver housing market gets Forbes‘ endorsement

Denver’s housing market may not seem in great shape right now, but according to Forbes magazine, it’s well positioned to improve soon and stay robust in the future. Indeed, “Best Cities To Buy A Home,” penned by Sarah Lynch, puts Denver atop a roster of cities with positive housing outlooks,…

Would Denverites still fly Frontier if it wasn’t based in Denver?

Republic Airways Holdings’ agreement to purchase Frontier Airlines should help the carrier emerge from bankruptcy — but it could also mean relocation of Frontier’s headquarters to Republic’s Indianapolis base of operations. Such a shift would obviously lessen the hometown pride locals feel in the airline, but I suspect it wouldn’t…

King Soopers looking to defend the blitz

As noted yesterday, King Soopers is avoiding the nuclear option when it comes to negotiations with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Local No. 7, rapidly agreeing to go back to the bargaining table as opposed to locking out employees who overwhelming rejected the retailers latest contract offer. But…

When life gives you pine beetles, make picture frames

The problem is a familiar one to Colorado residents by now: two million acres of dead trees, forested mountainsides turned entirely red. The high country has been turned into a giant tinderbox by a beetle the size of a grain of rice. The solution? Not to stop the pine beetle…

Paging through Phil Anschutz’s latest purchase, The Weekly Standard

Phil Anschutz’s slice of the Broomfield Event Center hardly represents his only recent investment. Last week, word surfaced that the Denver gazillionaire was negotiating to purchase The Weekly Standard from Rupert Murdoch, who may have decided that the right-wing bible had grown too conservative even for him. Now, the deal…

Broomfield Event Center on life support

The Broomfield Event Center has been twisting since at least earlier this year, when Tim Wiens announced that he wanted out of his contract to manage the venue — a lack-of-success story almost from its opening in 2006. And while the willingness of Anschutz Entertainment Group/Kroenke Sports Enterprises, a joint…