As I was running out of my office last night, late again, I got a call from a neighbor. “Do you know why the police are in front of your house?” she asked. Uh, no, I said, wondering if the mess of ungifted holiday gifts and unfinished Christmas projects clearly visible in…
Thirty years ago, Denver boosters were so worried that the city was considered a cowtown that they launched a campaign to appear more cosmopolitan, banishing any bovine connections. Westword responded by adopting the cow (and its bullish brethren) as a mascot for our annual Best of Denver, which celebrates everything that’s…
A few loose ends from last year are now neatly tied up. New Secretary of State, check: Bernie Buescher will be sworn in at 3 p.m. Wednesday (so long as the Colorado Senate confirms the appointment). New Senator, check. Governor Bill Ritter is currently touring the state with Michael Bennet,…
Among the residents who evacuated in the face of a fast-moving fire in Boulder this week was Michael Brown, current consultant and talk-show host, and former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a man who will be forever linked with this remark by President George W. Bush over his handling…
The Colorado Legislature just convened yesterday, with four months of hard work and tough budgeting choices ahead. So it’s no surprise that in their off-hours, citizen lawmakers would rather ignore this new year altogether and go directly to 2010, which promises plenty of political surprises. Already, Troy Eid, outgoing U.S…
The lights have been out for a few days now at Cebiche, the Peruvian restaurant at 2257 West 32nd Avenue that got a good review from Jason Sheehan won our Best Fried Pumpkin award in the Best of Denver 2008. A recorded message on Cebiche’s line at 303-433-1305 says that the…
Dear Mexican: I’m a Spanish teacher, and I’ve been hearing my students say a phrase, Tiki tu madre, and I am unsure what it means (if it truly means anything, which they swear it does). Maestra de Español Dear Teacher: Chula, your students están chingando contigo — or, in the…
On November 5, the day after Democrats scored such a stunning upset in Colorado, I spotted affable, outgoing Colorado House of Representatives speaker Andrew Romanoff at the Saucy Noodle, of all places. He was on the phone with Bernie Buescher, the Grand Junction rep who’d looked to be next in…
I have some fond memories of the Wellshire Inn. Decades ago, the Tudor building on the city-owned Wellshire Golf Course hosted a wild party for a local gal who’d just become a Playboy Playmate of the month. And then there was my lunch with then-Congressman Tom Tancredo and talk-show host…
In a day of bad news, yesterday had one bright spot: a neighbor notified us that our petition for residential parking permits had been approved. This is a pretty live-and-let live (or park) neighborhood, and we were reluctant to go the official root. But like so many other neighborhoods, this one…
Now that Michael Bennet has been named to take over for Ken Salazar in the U.S. Senate (no cowboy hat required), Colorado pols can get back to the business of running the state (at least until it’s time to start running for whatever seat may be in play in 2010). Today,…
Dear Mexican: How do Mexicans get such ridiculous nicknames from seemingly normal names? For instance, José becomes Chepe, Eduardo is Lalo, Gabriel becomes Gabi, and Guillermo devolves into Memo. It’s Marcela, Not Chela I want to know why Mexicans have such incongruous nicknames. In English, people have nicknames that have…
I dropped by Gaetano’s last night for a Tasty Treat (a sausage and green chili strips baked in a pizza crust) and a taste of history. Wynkoop Holdings bought this classic joint back in 2005, taking over a restaurant that started as Ralph and Mamie Smaldone’s Tejon Street Cafe back…
Yesterday afternoon, I posted a note from Marcus Pachner, informing members of the CBHD — the stakeholders’ group working with Shea Properties on its redevelopment of the former University of Colorado Health Sciences campus — that Denver City Council’s public hearing to consider landmark status for two buildings on the site has…
Next Monday’s public hearing before Denver City Council to decide the fate of two historic Hornbein and White buildings on the old University of Colorado campus has been postponed. “Shea has been working closely with Councilwoman Robb and Councilwoman Johnson on the historic designation applications,” wrote Marcus Pachner, a consultant…
Flying back into Denver Sunday, I looked for the wreckage of the Continental Airlines flight that had veered off a runway, careened down a hill and landed in a ravine, where it caught fire. That was back on December 20 — and the plane is still there, clearly visible to…
Denver’s fireworks display won’t officially start until 9 p.m. December 31 (with a repeat performance at midnight), but there have already been plenty of explosive discussions over who, exactly, Governor Bill Ritter should nominate to fill Ken Salazar’s soon-to-be-empty Senate seat — and what coveted slot might then be empty…
Dear Mexican: I was driving home along a road where a bunch of Mexicans live, and I noticed that almost every house has its Christmas lights still hanging from the rafters and reindeer and Santa Claus decorations weathered by the hot sun on the roofs. It’s the middle of May…
The names have been spinning through cyberspace since the first rumor that Ken Salazar might be headed to Barack Obama’s cabinet, leaving a U.S. Senate seat open: John Hickenlooper, John Salazar, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Andrew Romanoff, Tom Strickland. Even Federico Peña’s name floated up — until he pulled it…
“You’re a hard lady to get a hold of,” the caller said. “I’ve been trying to find out why you let your Rocky Mountain News subscription expire.” I stared at the receiver. Um, it seems that the future of the News might be a little uncertain, I said. “Oh, it’s…
The holidays push most action off the public calendar this week. Tonight at 5:30 p.m., Denver City Council will start the process of stuffing someone’s stocking with coal: Over the next few weeks, councilmembers will decide whether to grant landmark status to two, ’60s-era Hornbein and White buildings on the old University…
‘Tis a pleasure to drink in Colorado. On Saturday morning, I awoke with visions of sugerplums — and whipped cream, and gingerbread, and chocolate sprinkles — still dancing in my head. Just a few hours earlier, I’d sampled the last of sixteen entrees in the 2008 Holiday Cocktail Competition. I…
