This past winter, Wendy Hawthorne stopped by the city of Denver’s parks and recreation department, as she does every year. “I’d like to rent a baseball field,” she said. “How old are the boys?” the man asked her. “It’s for women,” she replied. “Then you need a softball field,” he…
How the Best Was Won Snow job: I always look forward to your annual Best of Denver issue, but the “Denver, Why I Love Her” essays made this year’s really special. I love Denver because it can snow three feet one day, and that snow will be gone three days…
About twelve minutes past one on Sunday, February 10, 2002, Mike Morrisey found himself frozen suddenly and solidly into place. His left hand was extended up above his head, where he’d been trying to push snow away. His right hand remained down. He was sitting, seemingly on a chair, with…
Amid the sprawl that is Douglas County — the fastest-growing county in the nation in 2001 — lives the Douglas County pocket gopher. The four- to five-ounce brown vegetarian is rarely seen outside of its burrow, and when the rodent does venture out, it’s rarely farther than a body length…
John Dicke’s career has all but ended since the board that regulates Colorado psychologists accused him of inserting a dildo into the anus of a little boy he was treating and restraining the child while holding the dildo to his mouth as he sucked on it. But in a surprising…
When Anthony Rodriguez Jr. skated, he held his head up high. It wasn’t an act of arrogance or a moment of showmanship; it was because the skinny, soft-spoken eighteen-year-old found happiness on his skateboard. “He said skating was the only time he felt free. He didn’t have to think about…
1. Denver mayoral front-walker Ari Zavaras can cite this achievement in collage, er, college: A. He was named “Brother Beer Bong” of his Greek fraternity. B. He spent a year as the Wise Owl mascot. C. As chairman of the school’s safety brigade, he was named a “Junior G-Man” by…
Last fall, Breckenridge Ski Resort got hit by an avalanche of criticism over two ads it had placed in snowboarding magazines, one of which promised that “The Hill May Dominate You. But the Town Will Still BeYour Bitch.” Although the campaign was quickly yanked by Breckenridge, it dominated the 44th…
As President George W. Bush prepares to launch his own variation on the Outkast hit “Bombs Over Baghdad” (key lyric: “Don’t even bang unless you plan to hit something”), the mainstream media is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to report on the desert turmoil to come. No need to marshal forces…
Science is a beautiful thing, as any ballplayer with a snootful of ephedra can tell you. Combine the vigor of deep thinking with the dynamics of a free marketplace and there’s no breakthrough our researchers can’t achieve — from genetically altered Brussels sprouts to video games that simulate a nuclear…
The Inn Crowd Throwing in the towel: Just finished David Holthouse’s article on the Regency (“Motel Hell,” March 13). I worked at the Regency in various capacities for several years starting in 1970, so I remember how grand it was. I remember meeting celebrities, sports figures and politicians. The Oxford…
The teachers at Greenwood Elementary School are gathered in the library, waiting and anxious. It’s 8:20 a.m., and Principal Shurwood Reynolds has called them together in the hopes of setting them at ease. Today is a big day, a day of judgment for a laborious semester spent changing the way…
I was never afraid of elevators until I rode in the elevators at the Regency Hotel. There are three of them, equally spooky, lit with bare white fluorescent bulbs. Carved swastikas and gang symbols scar the wood-paneled walls. The emergency-phone compartments hold dangling wires, pistachio shells, cigarette butts, scorched pizza…
While students around the world were walking out of classes on March 5 to protest for peace, Erin Durban stayed in school. But she’s no war hawk. The nineteen-year-old political-science student at Metropolitan State College is one of the leaders of Anti-War Auraria, a coalition that has attracted hundreds of…
After six years of filming, PeaceJam is finally making it to the big screen. The documentary, produced by the PeaceJam Foundation, was selected for next month’s Taos Talking Picture Film Festival and the American Film Institute Fest later this year. But the film’s executive producer and PeaceJam president, Ivan Suvanjieff,…
1. All but one of the following is true of Jason “Jake” Plummer: A. Even with his millions, he claims to still shop at Old Navy. B. Despite his gallant eighty-yard drive, his high school team lost the Idaho state championship by one measly point. C. His brothers used to…
Jessica Brakey feels like she’s been wronged all over again. After she was allegedly raped by an upperclassman during a field-training exercise at the United States Air Force Academy, Jessica began awakening from nightmares and fighting with roommates and boyfriends. Her behavioral problems got the attention of her commanders, and…
Those harbingers of spring are here, colorful displays popping up in front yards across the city. No, not crocuses, but campaign signs hyping the May election — among the very few signs allowed on residential property under Denver’s zoning code. A Hickenlooper here, a Mares there, a Zavaras everywhere. Although…
On the surface, there are major differences between Pam White and Pamela Clare. White is an area journalist known for passionately advocating on behalf of women and members of indigenous communities, and for taking contentious stances without regard to political correctness. Just days after 9/11, for instance, she penned “Why…
For the first three months of their season, the Johnson & Wales men’s basketball squad had a road schedule that made Colin Powell look like a shut-in. The Wildcats started the season on November 1, in Garden City, Kansas. The next nine games were all played in opponents’ gyms as…
SOS for YOS Jailhouse shlock: I was horrified by Alan Prendergast’s “Prisoners of Sex” story, in the March 6 issue. These girls are given one last chance to turn around, and what happens? They are preyed upon by the very people who are supposed to keep them safe! I think…
The night her roommate was raped, Angel Castro says, she had a ringside seat. She was in the upper bunk when the bed below her began to shake. The man who came into their room that night had no worries about locks or the law. He didn’t seem to care…
