Weld County is undergoing an explosion in the number of oil and gas companies using a technique called “horizontal drilling” to get at deposits deep in the Denver Basin, according to the Greeley Tribune. Which puts us in mind of a certain Simpsons episode…
Statistics compiled by the Federal Trade Commission show that Colorado had the highest per-capita rate of consumer fraud complaints in the nation last year. According to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network report for 2010, Greeley, Boulder, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs all ranked among the top 15 metro areas for…
When Mike Lindsey and his family traveled to Mexico in 2008 for Christmas, they brought home more than memories. Bedbugs, the subject of this week’s cover story, “Bug Bedlam,” hitched a ride from their rental house to the Lindseys’ Fort Collins home…
One thing you can say about the Shadow Theatre Company: They sure know how to create the drama. After failing to pay rent for most of 2010, the bankrupt troupe was evicted from their Aurora space last month. Now, their former landlord has filed a report with Aurora police that…
Trinidad’s City Council voted unanimously last week to file a lawsuit against the Arkansas River Power Authority, claiming that the co-op has bungled the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Lamar that was supposed to provide electricity to southeast Colorado. It’s the latest in a series of setbacks for…
Vowing to “run this airport like a business,” Denver International Airport manager Kim Day recently announced a ten-year financial strategy to keep operations in the black while funding a billion-dollar expansion plan. But some of DIA’s longtime vendors and contractors say they’re the ones getting the business from the airport’s…
The number of foreclosed properties getting sold at auction has dropped significantly in Colorado. In Denver, just 186 were snagged at the auction block last month, a 25 percent drop from the 249 that were sold in January 2010. Could increased competition be an explanation for why the Denver Public…
In hopes of climbing out from beneath crushing debt, the Shadow Theatre Company formally declared bankruptcy earlier this month. Its biggest creditor: Seedco Financial. According to bankruptcy documents filed February 2, Shadow owes $220,924 to Seedco for a “Bank Loan.”…
New foreclosure filings in Colorado are at an eight-month low and the number of foreclosed properties being sold at auction is down nearly 22 percent from this time last year, according to a report released today by the Colorado Division of Housing. “The past several months have certainly been positive,…
Your Lucky Deals, a deal-of-the-day website that donates 10 percent of every purchase to local charities, launched today in Denver. Started by a brother and sister who grew up in Parker, Your Lucky Deals stands out from other Groupon-esque websites because of its charitable component, says co-founder Ryan Smith. “We…
Yesterday, Kim Day, Denver International Airport’s aviation director, did her best to convince city council members that her team is being sensible in its approach to more than a billion dollars in construction projects at the world’s tenth-busiest airport. But the leaner budget Day presented raises the kind of questions…
A bill that sought to increase the reporting process for water-quality complaints related to oil and gas drilling in Colorado died quietly at the statehouse yesterday, with Republican lawmakers insisting that the industry’s use of hydraulic fracturing fluids, or “fracking,” poses no threat to groundwater. But the measure also drew…
There’s been much talk about real estate developer Buzz Geller entering the crowded mayoral race. Such a development would have been interesting; not only is Geller more conservative than his competition, he also has a tendency to speak his mind. It’s not meant to be, though. Here, Geller weighs in…
This week’s cover story, “The Devil’s Playground,” recounts the ordeal of Scott Howard, a Colorado inmate extorted and sexually assaulted by the 211 Crew prison gang. But it’s also about Howard’s history of obtaining bogus tax refunds while behind bars, a talent the gang was eager to exploit. Rape is…
Tragedy can bring out compassion in people — and companies, too. As evidence, note that Southwest Airlines held a plane for the grandfather of two-year-old Caden Rodgers, allegedly killed by Theodore Madrid last week…
Yesterday, we told you that the bed bug-killahs are in town: An estimated 500 pest management professionals are attending the inaugural National Bed Bug Forum in Broomfield, which runs through tomorrow. The shindig is hosted by the National Pest Management Association, which also recently conducted the nation’s largest bed bug-related…
Right now, more than 500 people are meeting at a hotel in Broomfield to learn about one creepy, crawly, nationwide problem: bed bugs. The National Bed Bug Forum is the first event of its kind in recent memory, says Missy Henriksen, spokewoman for the National Pest Management Association. Why? “Problems…
Crocs, the Niwot-based maker of brightly hued, comfy-ugly clown shoes, has had more than its share of PR disasters, from the hysterical reports of Crocs-shod kids getting toes nipped in escalators to the savage reviews from fashionistas to a wacky endorsement from Donald Trump. But all of that’s nothing, compared…
Much fuss has been made about the Highlands Mommies’ relationships to local businesses, as is evident in the comments on our cover story, “The Mommies.” Here’s a juicy one: The Highland Mommies are run by a self-possessed cadre of mean girls who finally have a voice after what surely were…
As the medical marijuana-industry settles into respectability, businesses are in need of professional, well-trained staffers — but many business owners are so busy navigating the rapidly changing regulatory landscape that they don’t have time to scout out top-notch workers. That’s where Denver-based CannaStaff, reportedly the first marijuana staffing company, comes…
It was a busy weekend for Westword.com. Hope yours was relaxing though. Here is a round-up of our weekend coverage…
Among the dozens of booths at Kush Con II over the weekend at the Colorado Convention Center, it was easy to spot the common items — glass pieces, 420 T-shirts and the like — but new ways to make money off the burgeoning marijuana industry here have cropped up, too…
