I’ve seen a lot of Western history auctioned off over the last year. I watched as billionaire William Koch bid $2 million to buy an original photo of Billy the Kid, and traveled up to Buford, population one, to see that tiny Wyoming town get sold — for $900,000 –…
Dear Readers: The Mexican is currently smuggling mescal out of Oaxaca and into hipster bars nationwide, and thus is serving you two oldies but goodies. But first, I want to give a shout-out to Olympic silver medalist Leo Manzano, a former undocumented immigrant who’s turning out to be the greatest…
In the latest installment of a long-running saga, yesterday Governor John Hickenlooper reappointed five of the ten public trustees who resigned last month — at his request. And he appointed three new trustees in three counties, including one who really puts the “public” in public trustee: sometime bartender Paul Weissmann…
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…
Dear Mexican: So often when we see Mexican bands perform in the U.S. and Mexico, the crowd at some point starts chanting “Cu-le-ro!” (“Asshole!”) Why does the crowd yell “Cu-le-ro!” at a band that they seemingly adore and paid a lot of money to see perform? Even fellow Latinos are…
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…
Dear Mexican: I’m a Mexican-American high school student, and just as patriotic as the Joneses who live next to me. In my neighborhood, a gabacho got mad when someone hung a Mexican flag and ended up cutting it down. I think this whole idea of putting one’s flag up and…
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…
Dear Mexican: I know I might sound like a gabacho borracho, but I’m really just a gringo trying to make progress toward getting work legally in Mexico, a side of the immigration debate we rarely hear about. Most gringos that move to Mexico are students at UNAM, or they are…
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…
Dear Mexican: I was wondering about the Spanish going into Mexico and taking the gold and artifacts away from the Indians. Could the Mexican government ask for the gold back? What do you think? Raider of the Lost Chonis Dear Mexican: Why doesn’t Mexico’s president demand that all nations and/or…
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…
