At one point, it seemed that Lance Tyler Hering had found a happy ending to his incredible story. Rather than return to Iraq as a Marine, Hering cooked up an elaborate scheme in which he would disappear in an Eldorado Canyon climbing accident. An expensive search did not locate his…
The Independence Institute’s annual Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms party is “the most politically incorrect event of the year,” as we tagged it years ago, and the tenth annual ATF event lived up to that billing Saturday even if it didn’t make the news that the 2010 incarnation did — when…
For “Rocky Mountain High,” Westword writers scattered around the state on Colorado Day, August 1, and returned with reports on why, even in this very tough summer, there are plenty of reasons to love Colorado. And Shaw Nielsen gave us one more: his wonderful cover art…
Politics aside — if you can set politics aside — Chick-Fil-A has lots of fans of its sandwiches. For those who are boycotting the chain for its anti-gay-marriage stance, yesterday Jonathan Shikes served up five chicken-sandwich options in town. Turns out we missed one: at Cafe Options, a terrific downtown…
It’s been a tough summer for Colorado — the toughest in recent memory, I wrote a week ago, on Colorado Day, August 1. By then, the state had weathered drought, wildfires and the horrors of the Aurora shootings. But already, things were looking up: Missy Franklin had just snagged her…
People have been paying big for little pieces of Western history. William Koch bid more than $2 million for a tintype of Billy the Kid, and paid about that much for the old town of Buckskin Joe. A Vietnamese national shelled out $900,000 for the town of Buford, Wyoming,, population…
On Colorado Day, August 1, we celebrated fifty reasons why Colorado is the greatest state in the country. Today we’re celebrating another one (although many politicians would dispute its benefits): the citizen initiative process, which allows residents to land measures on the statewide ballot, right alongside those put there by…
It’s been a tough summer for Colorado — the toughest in memory. But on this August 1, Colorado Day, there are still many, many reasons to celebrate life in the Centennial State. And Missy Franklin’s gold medal is just the most recent. The oldest? Just take a look to the…
After a three-and-a-half hour hearing yesterday before the Board of Appeals that considers objections to decisions by the city’s planning department, Jesse Morreale got the okay to immediately reopen his First Avenue Hotel building — which had been closed by the city three weeks ago, slapped with notices to vacate…
Three weeks after the city red-tagged the First Avenue Hotel, home of El Diablo and Sketch, the building remains dark while owner Jesse Morreale tries to figure out why the city suddenly decided the 106-year-old structure presents such a safety threat. This morning’s Board of Appeals hearing could be enlightening…
Head for the hills if you want to own a real piece of history — or just see history in the taking. At 1 p.m. today, a 6.8 acre piece of property in Central City will be auctioned off, complete with five historic brick and stone buildings…
Just two months ago, Aurora was looking at the dawn of a new economic era. The Colorado Economic Development Commission had just recommended the proposed Gaylord Entertainment hotel/resort/convention complex receive $81.4 million from the state’sRegional Tourism Act program, on top of the $300 million in subsidies that Aurora had already…
After a weekend hiatus that included Barack Obama’s visit to Aurora, the presidential campaigns are no longer on pause to honor the victims of the theater shooting. (Count on the tragedy to come up at the first presidential debate — October 3 in Denver.) And Colorado, too, is gearing up…
Will the second time be a charm? A screening committee has submitted a trio of finalists for Denver’s independent monitor job to Michael Hancock — two months after the mayor’s choice to fill the vacancy left by Richard Rosenthal turned him down, and the mayor declined to extend the offer…
Mayor Michael Hancock will deliver his State of the City address at 10 a.m. today, a year after he took office. The setting for the speech, City Park, was chosen over a month ago, but it symbolizes two of the major (and overlapping) challenges he’ll face over the next three…
Erik Osborn wanted to be a big-time developer, but his plans almost landed him in the big house. In 2009, a group of high-profile investors — including Dealin’ Doug Moreland — accused Osborn of stealing $255,000 intended for the pricey One Lincoln Park condominium complex downtown and another project in…
More than two decades ago, Curt Fentress got Denver International Airport off the ground, designing the iconic tent-roofed terminal after the Perez Group’s plans crashed and burned. But when the city decided to expand DIA, it snubbed Denver-based Fentress, going with starchitect Santiago Calatrava…
If city officials find a hundred members of a gay men’s chorus picnicking in front of City Hall today, they have only themselves to blame. The cast of Von Trapped, a coffee concert at the Buell this morning, were to have lunch at El Diablo — but that was before…
Gaylord Entertainment dumped its plans for a giant hotel/convention center/resort in Aurora, and GE has postponed its big new plant in Aurora — if not ditched it entirely. But at least Aurora had control over one business deal: It had no problem selling its water to an oil and gas…
“Who wants to fight government, especially over $10?” That’s what David Scherer asked himself when he thought the U.S. Forest Service was incorrectly charging a $10 fee to everyone who drove up Mount Evans — even drivers who did not stop as they took in the view. But as he…
Katie Reinisch managed to keep her cool through four years at the Colorado Legislature, when she was communications director for the Senate Democrats, so it’s not surprising that she’s having a blast running her own frozen-yogurt spot. “It’s so fun, and I’m learning so much,” she says. “I’m actually creating…
Mrs. J. J. Brown was never known as Molly. She cared much more about helping the poor in turn-of-the-last-century Denver than she did with crashing what passed for high society. She did not strip to her corset while rowing lifeboat #6 after the sinking of the Titanic, although she kept…
