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Best Save of an Old Building

The Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and Courthouse

After the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the U.S. General Services Administration began exploring ways to make its properties more "user-friendly." Denver's Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and Courthouse was one of the first in line, and the GSA's original plans for the facility included demolition of the courtyard and trashing of the Edgar Britton-designed bronze sunscreen. Thankfully, the Colorado Historical Society's Dale Heckendorn reminded the GSA that the 1960s complex, by local luminary James Sudler, had been identified by Historic Denver as one of the city's most significant examples of modern architecture. Oops! To its credit, the GSA has come up with new plans that will enhance, rather than destroy, the elegant original.

Best Protector of Downtown Denver

Kathleen Brooker

Kathleen Brooker, the president of Historic Denver, has had some successes over the years. But when it came to downtown, she, along with the rest of the good guys, often lost out. So Brooker tackled the problem head on and proposed that the city establish a downtown historic district that would prevent the destruction of significant buildings. Instead of fighting with owners who opposed the district, she focused on working with those who endorsed it, including such enlightened developers as David Cohen and Evan Makovsky. Eventually, inclusion in the district became a kind of status symbol, and owners clamored to get on board. And late last year, Brooker's dream came true with the creation of the Downtown Denver Historic District, which assures some of the city's best buildings of a happy future.

Best Protector of Downtown Denver

Kathleen Brooker

Kathleen Brooker, the president of Historic Denver, has had some successes over the years. But when it came to downtown, she, along with the rest of the good guys, often lost out. So Brooker tackled the problem head on and proposed that the city establish a downtown historic district that would prevent the destruction of significant buildings. Instead of fighting with owners who opposed the district, she focused on working with those who endorsed it, including such enlightened developers as David Cohen and Evan Makovsky. Eventually, inclusion in the district became a kind of status symbol, and owners clamored to get on board. And late last year, Brooker's dream came true with the creation of the Downtown Denver Historic District, which assures some of the city's best buildings of a happy future.

Best Radio Lefty

David Barsamian

Interviewer David Barsamian has turned the oddest of specialties -- interviews with liberal thinkers such as Noam Chomsky -- into a genuine career and a national reputation. His Boulder-based program, Alternative Radio, is syndicated on public-radio stations from coast to coast, and it's popularity among young tastemakers is exemplified by Keep Left, Vol. 1, an AR fundraiser/compilation CD featuring acts such as Olivia Tremor Control, Built to Spill and Pere Ubu. Barsamian's found a way to make intellectualism pay.

Best Radio Lefty

David Barsamian

Interviewer David Barsamian has turned the oddest of specialties -- interviews with liberal thinkers such as Noam Chomsky -- into a genuine career and a national reputation. His Boulder-based program, Alternative Radio, is syndicated on public-radio stations from coast to coast, and it's popularity among young tastemakers is exemplified by Keep Left, Vol. 1, an AR fundraiser/compilation CD featuring acts such as Olivia Tremor Control, Built to Spill and Pere Ubu. Barsamian's found a way to make intellectualism pay.

Best Cable Premium

The Alan Gerry Cable Telecommunications Building

Nearing completion on the University of Denver campus is the glitzy Alan Gerry Cable Telecommunications Building, which will house the National Cable Television Center and Museum, a nonprofit institution that's the brainchild of the late Bob Magness, founder of Telecommunications Inc. Any new building would have needed a distinctive look in order to stand up to the visually emphatic Ritchie Center so close by; luckily, this cable complex qualifies. Denver's RNL Design is responsible for the quirky structure, with its rusticated stone and eyeball windows; appropriately enough, it looks like something out of The Flintstones. And the building's future is secure -- already the museum has attracted tens of millions of dollars in donations. After all, those cable moguls can afford the best.

Best Cable Premium

The Alan Gerry Cable Telecommunications Building

Nearing completion on the University of Denver campus is the glitzy Alan Gerry Cable Telecommunications Building, which will house the National Cable Television Center and Museum, a nonprofit institution that's the brainchild of the late Bob Magness, founder of Telecommunications Inc. Any new building would have needed a distinctive look in order to stand up to the visually emphatic Ritchie Center so close by; luckily, this cable complex qualifies. Denver's RNL Design is responsible for the quirky structure, with its rusticated stone and eyeball windows; appropriately enough, it looks like something out of The Flintstones. And the building's future is secure -- already the museum has attracted tens of millions of dollars in donations. After all, those cable moguls can afford the best.

Best TV Newscast -- Night

Channel 7

It's no surprise that Tom Green, the best writer among area sportscasters, has announced that he's leaving Channel 7 in a matter of months; when a program is ratings-challenged, as this one is, the team that puts it together tends to fragment. And that's unfortunate in this case, since the structure of KMGH's ten o'clock newscast is sound, its reports are ambitious, anchors Ann Trujillo and Mitch Jelniker are the best in town at getting out of the way of a story, and Green and weathercaster Marty Coniglio are very good at what they do. Catch them while you can.

Best TV Newscast -- Night

Channel 7

It's no surprise that Tom Green, the best writer among area sportscasters, has announced that he's leaving Channel 7 in a matter of months; when a program is ratings-challenged, as this one is, the team that puts it together tends to fragment. And that's unfortunate in this case, since the structure of KMGH's ten o'clock newscast is sound, its reports are ambitious, anchors Ann Trujillo and Mitch Jelniker are the best in town at getting out of the way of a story, and Green and weathercaster Marty Coniglio are very good at what they do. Catch them while you can.

Best Gift for a Lobbyist

Official Loitering Pass

One evening early this legislative session, former state representative and current lobbyist Betty Neale was stopped at the State Capitol by a patrolman who thought she looked suspicious -- but, hey, she's a lobbyist! To save Neale (and its own bureaucratic self) from future embarrassments, the Colorado State Patrol subsequently issued Neale a tag that makes her status official: "The Honorable Betty Neale, former state representative, City and County of Denver -- Official Loitering Pass."

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