Mary Louise Starkey, head of the prominent Denver-based butler school Starkey International Institute of Household Management, was arrested yesterday for domestic violence. The incident is the latest in a string of recent embarrassments for Starkey, 59, the city’s so-called “First Lady of Service.” As reported in the Westword story “At…
At 2 p.m. today, the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee was scheduled to officially unveil its “Freewheelin” bike-sharing program, in which 1,000 bikes will be distributed around the streets of Denver to be freely used by visitors and the public during the Democratic National Convention, August 25-28. Local luminaries are…
With hindsight being 20/20, the minute after Barack Obama finished his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Hillary Clinton should have been on the phone to party leaders in West Virginia, setting the wheels in motion to allow the state to move its primary up in…
As detailed in a More Messages blog, University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson is spearheading a long-term project (estimated price tag: $9 million) to bring more conservative professors to the famously liberal institution. Well, at least one high-profile aspirant is ready, willing and able to share his rightward…
Updated May 14, 2008 2:40 p.m. Denver and Boulder newspapers take pride in being one-stop shopping places for the latest information about Colorado — and reporters and editors there despise it when a nearby competitor scoops them. The ire runs even hotter, though, when they’re beaten by outsiders, as seemingly…
This afternoon, the office of Congresswoman Diana DeGette, vice-chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, sent out a release noting that she was supporting legislation to suspend the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the end of the year, which the House will vote on tonight: “Congress is…
It’s still not too late to get Mom a belated something special. From experience, she probably expects too little too late as a matter of course. So, in order to make for your perpetual tardiness, you’re looking for something beyond the usual brunch out, card and flowers, all the stuff…
There’s a lot of wizardry at CNN these days. There’s Wolf Blitzer and his enchanted beard. There’s Andersen Cooper and the mystical way he made everyone forget that he was ever the host of a reality show. And then there’s John King and his magic board of election elucidation. The…
The May 10 column by Rocky Mountain News editor/publisher/president John Temple focused largely on a speech he gave to graduates of the University of Colorado Boulder’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. But in the midst of anecdotes and observances about the address, he casually mentioned that RedBlueAmerica.com, a project…
As media outlets everywhere are increasing their new-media presence, KHOW radio, at 630 AM, revisits the old school via a direct mail magazine that’s scheduled to start arriving at metro-area addresses on May 14. The cover boy on the mag’s inaugural issue is Tom Martino, who’s been down this road…
At the rise of a gently rolling hill in the Alleghenies on the road from Washington, D.C. to West Virginia, someone is building an arc. The skeletal wooden outline of a massive ship catches the sun as it dips below the horizon and reminds all passersby that the flood is…
View larger image Puerto Rico Total Number of Delegates: 63 Pledged: 55 Unpledged: 8 How to Recognize a Puerto Rico Delegate: Puerto Rico probably should have dumped America a long time ago, but like all sexy long-distance relationships, there have been “benefits” for both parties. Not that it has been…
With our Wild West tradition, it’s not surprising that horses play such a big role in the public art around here, an interest that underscores our worldwide image long ago established by old Hollywood Westerns. But surprisingly, this local taste for art about horses is not limited to historic pieces…
All too often, the passing of a radio veteran goes unremarked upon by stations where the personality previously worked. So give KOA credit for tipping its hat to the cranky yet widely beloved Gus Mircos, who died on May 11 at age seventy. Reporter Jerry Bell, who’s been with the…
Summer is almost here and Spring is in full bloom. And what better way to celebrate this time of rebirth and renewal than with the gathering of retooled hearses that each, in their day, hauled countless dead folks to their graves and crematoriums? This weekend saw Hearse Con 2008, an…
Slide show by Aaron Thackeray It’s truly inspiring to see a group of people so (seemingly) obsessed with death living their lives more fully than your average couch potato. The ambition and dedication it takes to restore, recraft and maintain these classic deathmobiles is remarkable. Here are some scenes from…
The May 12 edition of the Channel 9 morning news show dealt with the naked truth in more ways than one. As anchor Gary Shapiro reported about a May 11 photo shoot at an Austrian soccer stadium featuring approximately 1,800 individuals posing nude, control-room personnel rolled footage illustrating his words…
Once upon a time, cineastes had to look long and hard, and expend tremendous amounts of energy, in order to see obscure films. But thanks to the home video revolution and the rise of Internet shopping, intriguing flicks from moviedom’s past are readily available — even those that seem to…
The fact that the Denver District Attorney’s Office actually filed aggravated assault charges and arrested Denver Police Officer Chuck Porter on May 8 shows how serious the allegations against him are. The incident on April 18, which occurred in the lower Highland neighborhood near Chubbies on 38th Avenue, sent sixteen-year-old…
The process of researching virtually every article produces far more material than can possibly fit into the finished piece — and a lot of the leftovers are every bit as interesting as the stuff that makes the final cut. That was certainly the case for the May 8 Message column,…
It’s a classic, and occasionally overused TV news trick: the secret-camera Gotchya! But in the case of beer-guzzling Fourth Judicial District D.A. John Newsome – who was videotaped by KOAA in Colorado Springs drinking 134 ounces of the sudsy stuff over a five-hour period – the reporting was both newsworthy…
Have you been injured in an auto accident? If so, call attorney Frank Azar, “The Strong Arm.” He’s been fighting insurance companies in Colorado for years and he’ll get you a $25,000 settlement. Then, you can turn around and sue Frank Azar (profiled by Westword in 2002) for half of…
