News

The High Street Speakeasy sits on the southeast corner of 39th Avenue and High Street, wedged between Five Points and I-70. From the outside, it looks like less than nothing — exactly as a good speakeasy should. Inside, the guzzlery recalls the days when a shrill and righteous few decried…

The radioactive vomit will not spew fast enough for Ed Edmunds. Standing in the showroom of Distortions Unlimited, the Greeley gore factory he operates with his wife, Marsha, Edmunds is assessing an animatronic sculpture he calls “The Puker,” a life-sized model of a guy barfing into a vat of toxic…

There was a time in the mid-’80s when Stephen Gregory wondered if moving to Curtis Park was a mistake. The neighborhood was chock-full of old Victorian homes, but a number of them were boarded up, some in danger of collapse. Drug addicts wandered the streets looking for their next hit…

1. On November 4, what are the hours when polling places will be open in Denver? A . 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. B. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. C. None. D. Sunrise to sunset, Mountain Standard Time. 2. What is the official name of the Denver ballot? A. City…

Sitting in the darkened Denver Civic Theatre last week, waiting for the first penis-puppetry contestant to arrive for his live audition, we could only wonder what kind of man would be so eager to take his show on the road. At least the real Puppetry of the Penis performers get…

“My goal,” says Stephen Keating, who takes over as business editor of the Denver Post on November 3, “would be that when people pick up the paper every day, they have to see what’s in the business section.” If he manages this trick, Keating should package his formula and sell…

Lots of Luck Park and chide: Regarding Patricia Calhoun’s “Attention, Cherry Creek Shoppers,” in the October 23 issue: While, in my opinion, parking in the Cherry Creek shopping district shouldn’t cost a dime, there is a simple solution: Park in the free garage at the mall, and walk the measly…

It’s a beautiful Wednesday in October, bright and cloudless, and the Cherry Creek Shooting Center is packed at noon. Smelling equally of gun smoke and dirt, the small, dusty range rings with the sounds of artillery — metallic pings from dislodged shells; pops and hisses from semi-automatic Glock pistols and…

Don Robinson has a surprisingly gentle manner for a guy who spends so much time around firepower. Red-haired and friendly faced, he resembles Ned Flanders more than John Rambo. Aside from a patch on his shirt, Robinson’s well-worn hands provide the only outward clue to his profession as a range…

The 1999 shootings at Columbine High School put guns at the center of the public scope. But the Second Amendment has long been a loaded issue in Colorado, from decades-old debates over safe storage to a more recent battle over the gun-show “loophole.” And the Colorado Legislature’s passage this year…

When Renee McGaw purchased her East Washington Park home five years ago, she knew the kind of investment she was making. A single mother, she plowed every dollar she could spare into the house, redoing the kitchen and bathrooms, replacing gutters and repainting, determined to see her equity grow. The…

Don’t laugh, Cheri Thurston says. It’s not as easy as it looks. Contrary to popular opinion, she explains, jaw clenched, struggling with the right shoulder, this is a serious instrument. It’s a 25-year-old Petosa from Seattle that cost $6,000. If it were a violin, some would argue, it would be…

1. Kroenke Sports Enterprises is gobbling up venues around town and proposing new ones. What’s Stan’s big plan? A. A privately funded NASCAR track. B. Kroenke Kastle, complete with competitive jousting. C. A soccer stadium designed for the now-Kroenke-owned Rapids. D. L’Stanala, an opera house based on Milan’s L’Scala, in…

Since he was sworn in three short months ago, Denver mayor John Hickenlooper has kept busy naming cabinet members, popping up at every groundbreaking or envelope-opening in the city, and even playing himself (very well, too) in the Denver Press Club Gridiron 2003 skit “Leader of the City” on Sunday…

When retired reporter Dolores Plested says “I’m cracking up,” she means it physically, not mentally. By last summer, she had fully recovered from a broken hip suffered several years previously, but then she sustained a stress fracture in one ankle due to the effects of osteoporosis. The injury slowed her…

Making Their Mark Signs of the times: Regarding David Holthouse’s “Canned Heat,” in the October 16 issue: I’d like to thank David Holthouse for being a “willing accomplice” and sharing his findings about stencil graffiti with us. I’ve seen graffiti tagging throughout the Denver area and have actually tried to…

Many people would say that Pinnacol Assurance is a Colorado success story. Benson Von Feldt would disagree. Von Feldt has spent the last three years fighting Pinnacol, his employer’s workers’ compensation carrier. A hardworking man well into his fifties, Von Feldt had been employed at a greenhouse in northern Colorado…

He is a radical in Republican’s clothing: khakis, loafers, blazer over crisp button-down shirt. Completing the look is the golden retriever trotting merrily beside him as he strolls down Pennsylvania Street between 12th and 13th avenues. The hour is odd, nearly 3 a.m., but he doesn’t look out of place…

1. With Kobe’s image unraveling, Quizlanders need new heroes to look up to. As Fleetwood Mac, in town last week, once sang: A. “I am no better, and neither are you.” B. “Heroes are hard to find.” C. “When you wish upon a star.” D. “Sunshine on my shoulder.” 2…

Last Thursday, museum directors from across the country descended on Golden for a conference hosted by the Mountain-Plains Museums Association, and after a long day of meetings and workshops, a couple dozen conferees ambled into the Denver Sheraton West’s lounge for some refreshment. Once the beer started flowing, so did…