At about 11:15 a Denver Department of Corrections bus — the same type used last year to haul away arrested Columbus Day Parade protesters — drove by the Westword offices with a police escort. The windows were covered with mesh, but about a dozen people could be seen in the…
I thought I’d seen everything just before midnight on Friday, when suddenly there were swarms of available cabs around 15th and Platte streets. Denver is many things, but it’s never been a town where you can hail a cab…until now. On Saturday, August 23, the only thing more plentiful than…
This camera can see a lot more than the Pepsi Center. Do you ever get that funny feeling you’re being watched? Well if you’re anywhere near downtown Denver during the Democratic National Convention, you probably are. Over the past three weeks, the Denver Police Department has quietly rolled out an…
An image from a 1979 police training video viewable below. “Are you another fucking Mexican?” the Sergeant asks the recruit to the Denver Police Department. “Jesus fucking Christ, is there any white people in this class?” Westword has obtained a police-training video from 1979 that shows a group of new…
There’s really nothing to say. Just listen…
Check one two. I didn’t learn much during the Pepsi Center’s community walk-through today that I didn’t already know, but I did get a feel for just how massive an operation the Democratic National Convention and the accompanying media coverage will be. Just getting to the Pepsi Center from the…
Dean Singleton, image protector. In this morning’s Denver feature on National Public Radio, reporter Jeff Brady purports to share with listeners the five things visitors to the Democratic National Convention should do while here but probably won’t. His first item, though, is actually something DNC attendees should do but can’t…
Joel C. Hunter. There have been loads o’ rumors about who else will be in the spotlight during Barack Obama’s August 28 Invesco Field at Mile High acceptance speech. For instance, the Denver Post’s Bill Husted puts odds of a Bruce Springsteen appearance at 95 percent. But someone who’s publicly…
At least the tickets seem to be the real things. As chronicled here and here, my family and I had essentially given up on getting tickets for Barack Obama’s August 28 Invesco Field at Mile High acceptance speech despite having registered for them within minutes of the press conference announcing…
“Sparkle, people! Sparkle!” In case you’re jealous of those savvy Obama fans who volunteered to help out at the DNC (and thus increase their proximity to The Hopeful One), here’s something that should make you feel better. It’s an orientation video that a friend of mine was required to watch…
Anti-abortion protesters will hold several rallies this weekend. The DNC has inspired hundreds of protests and programs. Below are a half-dozen of the most interesting. And for glimpse at all the different protesters you’ll encounter this week — from angry Hillaryites to street-theater weirdos — see Jared Jacang Maher’s Protester…
Rock the vote on the rocks. Maker’s Mark plans to make its mark during the Democratic and Republican national conventions by selling special bottles of bourbon dipped in red, white and blue wax (or blue, red and white wax, depending on your politics, says company spokeswoman Jamie Hakim) and adorned…
Quench your thirst on the way to Invesco. First things first: No beer. But all other concessions will be open for business at Invesco Field at Mile High on Thursday, August 28, as documented in this Rocky Mountain News piece — and they’ll be the only option for people who…
Party at Dan’s place! As anyone who’s searched for an apartment in the last month knows — and as the New York Times pointed out this morning — Denver’s craigslist outpost is little more than a DNC housing swap meet these days. Everyone within 25 miles of the Pepsi Center,…
Condoleeza Rice. So on August 21, four days before the start of the Democratic National Convention, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says the United States and Iraq have agreed that timetables should be set for U.S. troop withdrawl from the wartorn country, and major news agencies are reporting the target…
Al Franken. Recently announced Democratic National Convention speakers such as Jimmy Carter, Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy share at least one characteristic in common: They’re not very funny. Meanwhile, someone who has coaxed a laugh or two in his day, and who’s planning to be in Denver for the DNC…
Saving humanity one sexy photo at a time. Listen to this lineup for an August 27 roundtable discussion at Boettcher Concert Hall on the topic of “Combating Global Poverty,” as announced by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee: Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State and co-chair of the Commission on…
On Monday, the fenced lot in front of the Denver Police Academy at 8895 Montview Boulevard was empty. On Wednesday it was filled with 50-or-so large vans with license plates ranging from California, Nevada and Florida. None of them were marked as police vehicles, but don’t be surprised if they’re…
“You stop that protesting right now or I will turn this press conference around!” This email just came from Westword Editorial Operations Manager Jane Le: I attended the Nancy Pelosi book signing at the Tattered Cover yesterday, and there were PROTESTERS there. The first one was whisked away so quickly…
Can’t wait to see the glass elevator. In the last week or so, I’ve ranted in this space not once but twice about my entire family being rejected for Barack Obama acceptance speech tickets. And given that the tickets were handed out this past weekend with much hoopla, the last…
Ten things you should know before you step out into one of this city’s 300 annual days of sunshine. 1) John Denver is not from Denver — so don’t blame us for “Rocky Mountain High.” In fact, the former Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. never even lived in Denver, although he…
When Colorado became the 38th state in the Union, in 1876, a New York newspaper wrote, “There is something repulsive in the idea that a few handfuls of miners and reckless bushwackers should have the same representation in the Senate as Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.” On the eve of…
