In 1999, Westword published its sixteenth Best of Denver issue, a celebration of the city that saluted everything from the Best New Public Art (Donald Lipski’s still-beloved “Yearling”) to Best Brunch Served by Drag Queens (Bump and Grind) to Best Hair on a TV Personality (Adele Arakawa, as serious as…
A Denver-based anti-abortion group has issued a deadline of January 31 to the local office of contractor Weitz Co. to halt construction on a Planned Parenthood facility in East Denver. More than a symbolic gesture to mark the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, Will Duffy, lead organizer…
Longtime Denver scenesters may know Zachary Helm best as the head mortician for the Denver Hearse Association, a club devoted to lovers of the casket-carrying cars. Or as an erstwhile urban explorer of the abandoned Gates factory. Maybe you’ve even spotted his black hearse driving around town – you know,…
The Glendale prostitution sting case covered in these pages this past November (Glendale Prostitution Sting Has Fringe Benefits, November 27, 2007) will now be going before a grand jury…
He may have meant no malice by it, and he quickly apologized for it, but when Greeley businessman William Farr said at last week’s Citizen of the West banquet, “They’re going to have to change the name of [the White House] if Obama’s elected,” he shot almost immediately to the…
In the January 10 Message column, Gene Craven (pictured), the new president and general manager of KUVO/89-3 FM, Denver’s jazz-centric public-radio station, talked about his desire to expand the outlet’s reach. A couple of weeks later, he’s already moving forward with this plan. On January 23, the station formally announced…
“Mucha Lucha,” Adam Cayton-Holland, January 10 Mask Confusion Thanks so much for the great article on lucha libre. I am a huge fan, and was unaware that any local scene existed at all. It would have been nice to get a little more information on the sport itself, like the…
If not for all the pink hair and inventive body modifications, the two dozen people wandering around the Golden Triangle on a sunny Saturday could be mistaken for delegates surveying the city in advance of the Democratic National Convention. “Gather ’round, everyone. Welcome to Denver. My name is Rockslide. I…
During his January 14 program, Fox Business personality Neil Cavuto tried to bait Michael Karolchyk, the willfully offensive owner of Denver’s Anti-Gym, into directing one of his trademark tirades against overweight people at the jolliest soul he could imagine: Santa Claus. And Karolchyk was more than happy to oblige. “Santa…
My parents were drug addicts. I wasn’t sure what drug, though; after all, I was only eight. My Dad was always in and out of jail. My Mom and Dad always argued, over anything. Sad part was that my Dad was abusive to my Mom. That’s the part that hurt…
Herbert Beck – one of the men behind the infamous rattlesnake murder plot (pictured above on the left) – got off Tuesday with five years probation and strict instructions not to gamble. Beck had been a player and investor with the Wheat Ridge-based Amateur Poker Tour, which is currently being…
A lot of the most entertaining writing coming out of the Denver Post isn’t intended for public consumption. Instead, it’s reserved for internal memos. As evidence, consider the following missive sent out under editor Greg Moore’s signature on January 22. The topic? His frustration with chatter about the alleged fate…
This January 22 More Messages blog focuses upon “Trio Loved Speedy Cars,” a Boulder Daily Camera piece penned by reporter Heath Urie that many readers saw as practically celebrating drunk driving at excessive speed. The quote that sparked the most ire came from Lorie Flaherty, the sister of Michael Flaherty,…
When the wind blows just right, kissing the exhaust vents on top of Charlie Huang’s new restaurant, Jing, all the oxygen on the street seems to be replaced, for just the space of a single breath, with the greasy, earthy, candied scent of garlic roasting, garlic frying, garlic oil gleaming…
As predicted earlier today, Fred Thompson is dropping out of the Republican race — but sadly, his spot at Law & Order has already been filled by Sam Waterston, whose own foray into politics for Unity ’08 has been less than overwhelming. Too bad, because several other L&O cast-mates would…
Attention young political junkies! As the Democratic National Convention approaches, don’t think the big news networks will be the only ones peddling your political fix. MTV is looking to take over as the pusherman on the Gen Y electorate, and in Colorado, recent CU graduate Trevor Martin will be its…
The migrational habits of Colfax buses has puzzled scientists for quite some time. The feast or famine phenomenon is common – no bus will appear for 40 minutes, then three 15s in a row will appear, leapfrogging gracefully all the way down Colfax. The sweetest position to have is the…
At this writing, the most e-mailed and commented-upon article on the Boulder Daily Camera website is “Trio Loved Speedy Cars” — but the reasons for its growing infamy aren’t necessarily positive. The January 20 piece, penned by reporter Heath Urie, doesn’t stand out because of the unique events it chronicles…
On January 22, Timothy Lee Masters is expected to be released from custody thanks to new evidence that calls into doubt his 1999 conviction in the slaying of Fort Collins’ Peggy Hettrick twelve years earlier. Many parties deserve credit for this stunning turn of events, including Masters’ indefatigable legal team…
After his sad 16 percent in South Carolina, it looks like Fred Thompson will be calling it quits before closing arguments in the next real presidential trials: Florida, and then February 5’s Super Tuesday. But he has only himself to blame. When former senator Thompson was playing district attorney Arthur…
View larger specimen In order to make more sense of the world around us, illustrator and public house naturalist Nate Stone is compiling here a taxonomy of different barflies. While you’re out and about in Denver, if you spot any of these specimens please add your observations about their habitat…
Slide Show This week, I caught up with Denver visual artist Jason Thielke, whose show PSiLOVEU is on display at Limited Addiction art gallery (825 Santa Fe Drive) through February 9. Thielke’s creates intricately-layered line depictions taken from his observations of urban landscapes and those who inhabit them. Heavily influenced…
