More than eight months ago, Occupy Denver protester (and former Westword cover subject) Corey Donahue called it a “bad nut-tap joke gone wrong.” But this morning, during his trial for the misdemeanor charge of unlawful sexual contact, the events of October 15 grew more serious. After a day-long trial that…
After months of research, Denver City Councilwoman Robin Kniech concluded that Denver’s city council was among the worst in the country when it came to allowing public comment. Heated debates followed. But this week, Kniech successfully lobbied her colleagues to agree to a change in standards that will give the…
Illustrating the importance of Colorado as a key battleground in the presidential election, Mitt Romney is campaigning in the state this week — and the Dems aren’t letting him get away without a counterattack. Romney is hosting a fundraiser in Aspen tonight and has an event tomorrow morning at a…
Correction: A previous version of this post referred to Crossroads GPS as a super PAC, when Crossroads GPS is in fact a nonprofit group that is a sister organization to American Crossroads, a Republican super PAC. They didn’t waste any time. Just hours after the latest unemployment statistics came out…
Initiative 84, a proposed ballot measure that would have reformed the state’s foreclosure process, is effectively dead — but it will enter a third life in the next legislative session. Five weeks before 87,000 signatures were due at the Secretary of State’s office — and with only 25,000 in the…
John Buechner, former mayor of Boulder and former head of the University of Colorado, thinks he has some solutions to the challenges of local government — mainly that elected officials don’t actually get that much done and citizens don’t really care. He outlines his prescription for low-level politicians in his…
Exactly six months after Arapahoe County District Court blocked Marla Sneed’s house from foreclosure, the 53-year-old mother of three is back to square one. Or perhaps square negative one: Earlier this week, she received a letter from PNC Bank demanding a payment of more than $42,000 by July 15 lest…
Bringing the 2022 Winter Olympics to Denver has the potential to bring people together in a way that nothing else can, Governor John Hickenlooper said today, expressing serious interest in a possible bid. The governor chatted with Westword this morning about what the Olympics could mean for Colorado after he…
If you’re a woman, you would be totally friggin’ insane to vote for Mitt Romney. That was the theme of most speeches at the official launch of Obama-campaign-sponsored Women Vote 2012 Summit Tour, which took place in Wheat Ridge yesterday afternoon with celebrity support from actress Eva Longoria…
The Obama campaign is hoping to make news in Colorado for something other than today’s presidential visit to the Waldo Canyon fire zone in the Springs. The fight for swing state votes will hit Wheat Ridge Sunday, when Obama staffers will join former Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria for the…
The Supreme Court’s heath care ruling has made such a splash that it’s easy to forget SCOTUS also weighed in on Arizona’s controversial immigration law this week. What’s the latter got to do with Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act? Plenty, say opponents, who see the opinion as…
Big news today for Barack Obama and, you know, tens of millions of Americans across the country: The Supreme Court of the United States has finally issued its ruling on the Affordable Care Act, essentially deciding to keep most of it intact. And advocates in Colorado are cheering the news,…
This was not how Bike To Work Day was supposed to go. Sitting in on part of a Denver City Council retreat yesterday, Westword learned that ex-councilman Doug Linkhart, who ran for mayor last year, was hit by a pickup truck while cycling to a Bike To Work Day event…
A new group called Fight Back Colorado has a message for the lawmakers who voted to kill a bill to legalize civil unions: Watch out. The group launched an effort today to defeat those legislators in November’s election — though they haven’t yet named names…
Since Denver cop Celena Hollis was shot and killed over the weekend, there has been a lot of speculation concerning the possible gang-affiliation of the suspect — but according to Mayor Michael Hancock, reporters are asking the wrong questions. In this case, the gang question, Hancock told Westword today, is…
Editor’s note: This election cycle, Westword is exploring the public records of television stations for information on how candidates are spending money on ads in Denver. Joe Coors, your average local candidate for Congress who is not a beer, appears to be trying to secure support from an unusual voting…
As we reported yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down portions of SB-1070, Arizona’s controversial immigration law, but left standing the “show me your papers” provision, which lets officers ask about the immigration status of those found to be suspicious. Many local immigration activists were upset by this last development…
Today, the United States Supreme Court rejected three of four core provisions in Arizona’s controversial immigration law — but allowed the most hotly contested to remain. It is still legal for state police to stop, interview and detain people they have “reasonable suspicion” to believe entered the country illegally, an…
Editor’s note: This election cycle, Westword is exploring the public records of television stations for information on how candidates are spending money on ads in Denver. In Denver, the Obama campaign is spending a lot more money on TV ads than is Romney’s. After digging through more public records, it’s…
When the members of local experimental rock band Eldren gathered themselves and their gear together for a June 4 show at Aspen’s Belly Up, they quickly noticed one person was missing: Josh Lee, the group’s violinist, vocalist and electric guitarist. And then they received a call. From inside the Immigration…
Unsurprisingly, reporters at Michael Hancock’s press conference this morning were more interested in the news that the mayor fired a close friend and aide, Wayne McDonald, than the stated topic of the event (his plan to solve the city’s structural budget gap). “We had received an accusation which we looked…
Throughout nine months navigating the shifting landscape of public perception, Occupy Denver has attracted attention, praise and criticism. And for the past two, occupiers have gathered stories in all three categories, which they will funnel this weekend into a two-hour performance light on props and heavy on perspective. In Stories…
