The week ahead: Plenty of battles in this battleground state

Hitting the trail á la JibJab. Looking for proof that Colorado’s a battleground state? Barack Obama will be in the Denver area today, his wife Michelle is coming in Wednesday, and Sarah Palin is slated for an October 4 visit. And more evidence will arrive in your mailbox soon, since…

What the Mexican ate while he was in Denver

Gustavo Arellano, author of Ask a Mexican, was in town this week to tout his new book, Orange County: A Personal History, and since he’s a colleague, we wanted to take him out to eat. But since he’s also the food editor of the OC Weekly (and the hardest-working man…

Chipotle needs a new ad man? How about Adam Cayton-Holland?

Chipotle, the little homegrown company that got very big by selling big burritos, is looking for a new advertising agency. According to Ad Age, Chipotle only lasted nine months with New York’s DeVito/Verdi, and now wants to stuff its $15-to-$20 million account into some other company’s coffers. “We are looking…

The week ahead: FasTracks considers how to make ends meet

FasTracks tries to get back on track, financially speaking. Four weeks ago today, the Democratic National Convention kicked off in town – and now, Denver’s post-party depression has given way to fears of a real depression. This week, it’s all about the money – yours, mine, and Joe Nacchio’s, with…

Graffiti prevention makes the city budget…for now

Red alert. As promised, Mayor John Hickenlooper’s proposed budget for FY 2009 includes “increased funding for graffiti prevention and coordination efforts.” The suggested $250,000 line item is just a pittance in comparison to the $914 million total, but it could have a big impact on efforts to channel urban artists’…

Mary Smith, Denver’s funniest Republican, goes national

Mary Smith as seen on Fox News during the Democratic National Convention. When last I saw Mary Smith, she was sitting on the patio outside Lime XS on Sixth Avenue, demonstrating how easy it is to imitate Sarah Palin with a borrowed pair of glasses, a ponytail and some lipstick…

MIA: Anyone to talk about the missing DNC cars

No one’s in the driver’s seat. Last week, Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown reported that 38 of the hybrids donated for use during the Democratic National Convention were missing. He’d heard that from Paul Lhevine of the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee at a convention recap on Friday, September 5…

Denver discovers the difference between art and vandalism

The city’s not whitewashing this one. It made a mistake, and it plans to make good on it. On Monday, representatives of several Denver agencies — including the Department of Public Works, Solid Waste Management, Denver City Council, Denver Partners Against Graffiti, the Denver Police Department and the Denver Office…

Park Hill gets creative with its alley art

Don’t let Denver Partners Against Graffiti near Park Hill this month — at least not until they’ve taken a refresher course in arts appreciation. Because otherwise, they could ruin the Park Hill Alley Contest, a true community service concocted by residents Jack and Pam Farrar. Back in May, the Farrars…

The writing’s on the wall for Orange Cat Studios

Shortly after this edition of Westword went to press with my follow on the mauling of murals before the Democratic National Convention, Sean Rice, the proprietor of Orange Cat Studios, finally got a call from the city in response to his complaint that Denver Partners Against Graffiti had wiped out…

Denver’s post-party depression

Mo Rocca. I’m looking out over the Platte Valley, the scene of so much celebration last week. Invesco Field at Mile High, which filled with a record crowd for Barack Obama’s speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president. The Pepsi Center, where politicos and stars and Joe Citizens gathered to…

Paging Fred Thompson! Get back to Law & Order

Sam Waterston and Fred Thompson in the L&O glory days. Was it just a year ago — it feels like decades — that Fred Thompson finally officially entered the Republican race for president on September 5, 2007? After all the slow, coy buildup to that announcement, Thompson’s campaign fell flat,…

Blankety-Blank

The writing’s on the wall. The Democratic National Convention in Denver will go down as a huge success — as long as you’re not a local artist, that is. Early on Sunday, August 24, the day before the DNC officially kicked off a mile away at the Pepsi Center, a…

Boom With a View

While other galleries found their exterior art suddenly wiped off the map, Boom: A Nomadic Gallery wasn’t about to wait around. This mobile arts ambassador kept on the move through the Democratic National Convention. “Boom went great — except when we got chased out of City Park for the yoga…

Palin party pooper is from Colorado

Denver was still drunk on the success of the Democratic National Convention yesterday morning when suddenly, the party was over. Speculation that Alaska governor Sarah Palin would be the surprise pick for the Republican vice-presidential nomination pushed the DNC out of the national spotlight on all the TV talk-shows –…

A last moment in the spotlight for Denver

A last hurrah for Denver with former resident Harry Smith If you hurry, you can bask in the reflected glow of a final moment in the spotlight for Denver. CBS’s The Early Show — helmed by former Denverite Harry Smith, who wrote for Westword back in the ’70s — has…

After the DNC: All quiet on the Western front

At 3:30 a.m., southbound Speer Boulevard is empty — and open. To the left, two cabs are cruising for their last fares of the night. To the right, Invesco Field at Mile High is still glowing, lit up with memories — and the cleaning crews getting the place back in…

Mad for Mad Men at the DNC

Smokin’ hot stars Jon Hamm and John Slattery in Mad Men and with Mayor John Hickenlooper at the Pepsi Center. I’d been getting kind of cranky about all the celebrity hype surrounding the Democratic National Convention. Where were the big parties? a radio producer wanted to know. The only party…