State Representative David Balmer apologized yesterday for losing “his cool” in a heated conversation last week with Senator Gail Schwartz; his agitated gesturing got him banned from the Senate floor for the rest of the 2011 congressional session. But Balmer’s temper isn’t the only thing keeping Colorado warm. Here are…
This icon pictured above was inspired by the signage of a defunct restaurant housed in the clubhouse of a bankrupt country club from which the neighborhood got its name. It’s a fitting homage to the regenerative character of Wellshire. This is a neighborhood where residents can turn virtual cesspools back…
A program that delegates federal immigration enforcement powers to local officers is not netting as many serious criminals in Colorado as in other states, says a study released today by the Migration Policy Institute…
Last March, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers joined “nearly a dozen” state AGs in challenging the constitutionality of just-passed health-care legislation. Now, he is celebrating a U.S. District Court ruling in Florida that concludes Congress “exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate.” Look…
For a while on Friday, it looked like the unbelievably crowded field for Denver mayor was about to get a little larger. A day of buzz about local businesswoman Linda Alvarado jumping in was followed by a Denver Post piece quoting her as confirming it. But that item was soon…
It’s inspiring, really, the way state lawmakers pull together when a matter of great social consequence is at stake. Such seems to be the case with the rapid move through committee this week of House Bill 1058, sponsored by Denver Democrat Dan Pabon, which would prevent poor folks from using…
You know that birthday present you bought for Scott Gessler? He sold it. And that bottle of wine you brought to the party? He sold that, too. In fact, Gessler, Colorado’s new Secretary of State, has no problem looking a gift horse in the mouth — and then extracting the…
In a crowded field of folks vying to be Denver’s next mayor, Eric Jon Zinn has one particular candidate in his sights that he’s hoping to beat: Mayor McCheese. The 17th Street tax attorney wants Denverites to forsake the junk food, get on the bike or into the gym and…
The picture above proves that Senator Mark Udall’s civility push is spreading from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to the neighborhoods of Denver. Where the “No whiners” doctrine reigned supreme in the Highland neighborhood, now comes the sign that “winers welcome.” Below, the notoriously snobbish City Park neighborhood is…
Soon after Indra Lusero gave birth in the bedroom of her Highlands bungalow in 2003, she made a decision: She wasn’t going to be the typical midwifery client who had her baby and then never thought about midwives again. No, she was going to become an advocate for the centuries-old,…
With John Hickenlooper now Colorado’s governor, we know Denver will soon have a new mayor, and the race promises to be wide open. To introduce you to the players, we’re offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Thomas Andrew Wolf. “I’m the only businessperson running for mayor,” says Thomas Andrew…
After just two weeks on the job as an elected official, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler says that he cannot live on the paltry $68,500 annual salary and plans to moonlight as an attorney at his old law firm. Imagine his ad campaign! Below, see how Scott can use…
After the uproar over three tax-cutting initiatives on last year’s ballot, at least two bills introduced in the 2011 legislative session are designed to head off similarly furtive petition strategies in the future — and keep anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce from repeating the performance that frustrated a cadre of judges,…
Michelle Malkin seldom misses an opportunity to rip President Barack Obama. But at 7 p.m. tonight, when Obama is set to deliver his State of the Union address, the Fox News contributor appears to be otherwise occupied. Beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Colorado Springs, she’s slated to take part in…
At first, even Colorado’s reps weren’t sold on Senator Mark Udall’s idea about Republicans and Democrats sitting together at the State of the Union speech. Now, as Cokie Roberts noted on National Public Radio this morning, the concept’s taken on a life of its own, with elected officials who usually…
Representative Wes McKinley, a Democrat who represents District 64 in the southeastern corner of the state, could well be the most colorful lawmaker in the Colorado General Assembly, with a background that includes ranching, teaching and serving as the foreman of the Rocky Flats Grand Jury. But first and foremost,…
At a rally Friday against Denver’s ban on pit bulls, the lone city council member in favor of the overturning the measure told a cheering crowd of about a hundred people that an upcoming federal lawsuit focusing on a loophole established by the Americans with Disabilities Act could weaken the…
Originally founded in the early 1880s by Italian vegetable farmers on open land just north of the Highland neighborhood, Sunnyside is still a growing by leaps and bounds. The mix of historic homes on tree-lined streets accented with pockets of light industry is attractive to residents with a unique form…
Mark Udall, the Colorado senior senator who has recommended a mixed-party seating arrangement to symbolize unity during President Obama’s January 25 State of the Union speech, has an extended game plan for continued political cooperation…..
On a comfortably brisk morning in City Park, thousands of people gathered to march in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We asked a few marchers of how to keep King’s spirit and message alive in 2011, 43 years after his death…
Plagued by massive turnover in recent years, the Adams County Coroner’s Office is starting the new year with a clean slate — really clean. Newly elected coroner Monica Broncucia-Jordan, a former employee who’s suing the county over wrongful termination, has begun her term by firing just about everybody left in…
