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Best Radio DJ

Hal Moore

Yes, doctor! There is nothing quite as exhilarating as waking up to the jubilant voice of Hal "Baby" Moore on Cruisin' Oldies 950. A seasoned radio vet with a half-century's worth of experience behind the mike, Moore is a living local legend. From his time at KHOW until now, at KRWZ, he's been the trusted on-air companion of several generations of Denverites. He's always a joy to listen to, whether he's sharing his memorable anecdotes from the past or offering insightful details of the songs he's playing. From the excitement in his voice as he pages through the annals of rock, you'd never know that these are tunes he's played a million times over. Hal reminds us of radio the way the way it was meant to be. There's a reason the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado have chosen Hal to enter their Hall of Fame.

Best Radio Personalities

Slacker and Steve

When you're relegated to a windowless office or stuck behind the wheel in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Slacker and Steve, the hysterical duo who run the airwaves of KALC during the 3-to-7-p.m. time slot, make life much more bearable with their on-air theatrics and dramatics. From the Great Mate Debate, wherein couples argue over credit card debt, football, beer and ex-BFFs to the White Trash News Flash segment, five minutes of backwoods bumpkin accents articulating the world's weirdest news — the woman who carried a monkey in her bra and made it through the metal detector, for example — it's a laugh-out-loud romp of banter and conversation that never gets stale.

Best Radio Talk-Show Host

Mike Rosen

Mike Rosen's loss — big loss, since much of his nest egg was invested with Bernie Madoff — is Denver's gain. Rather than retire, Rosen's still on the air, and his experience shows: He's extremely fluid in his delivery, well-reasoned and well-read, incredibly versatile in subject matter. Rosen doesn't just bang an anti-Obama drum, although he does talk about politics (and features Governor John Hickenlooper once a month); he also devotes time to baseball, entertainment and, yes, grammar. Rosen is a talk-show pro who's only gotten better (read: more patient) with age — which may not translate to high ratings in this rant-rewarding climate, but pays off for listeners who actually want to hear intelligent discussion.

Best Reuse of a Historic Building

7-Eleven

With its radial corners, crisp white walls and integral clock, the sleek streamlined moderne character of the onetime gas station at East Colfax Avenue and Race Street still showed through despite the grime it had accumulated during its decline over the last few decades. Nonetheless, it seemed that the 1930s building would surely meet an ignoble fate at the business end of a wrecking ball, as have so many other historic modernist buildings in Denver. But that changed this year when 7-Eleven remodeled and moved in. With that move, the famous chain won the preservation lottery — which, by the way, they don't sell tickets for — and shared the winnings with the rest of us.

Best TV Anchor

Jim Benemann

While other anchors sometimes sound like they're phoning in their performances — simultaneously checking their 401(k)s to see if they can retire yet — Jim Benemann reminds us why newscasts were set up with an anchor desk in the first place. Benemann has a steady, calming presence that gives the appropriate gravitas to whatever story he might be delivering — but there's always the hint of a twinkle in his eye. If you still need your nightly newscast before you can go to bed, Benemann's just the man to tuck you in.

Best TV Newscast

KUSA Morning News

Although network news viewership is shrinking, Channel 9 remains a powerhouse. And Denver has a powerful fondness for the team featured on the KUSA Morning News, a newscast that stretches over two channels and so many hours that it someday may run right into the evening shows. This year it added an extra half-hour at 4:30 a.m. featuring Gregg Moss, who rejoined the fold last year; a savvy business reporter, Moss offers a particularly intelligent way to start the day. And he sticks around when the rest of the crew — avuncular Gary Shapiro, still pixieish Kyle Dyer, sports reporter Susie Wargin and weathercaster Becky Ditchfield — show up to help the rest of Denver get their morning going.

Best TV Sportscaster

Vic Lombardi

Once again carrying the ball is the man not to be confused with the NFL coaching legend whose name graces the Super Bowl trophy. Still, the confusion is fitting: Vic Lombardi, a Denver native, is developing into something of a local faceman for this town's teams. Although his style can be over the top, he reins it in at the right moments; for proof, check out some of his effective "Vic's Signature" commentaries. (They'll have you wishing Keith Olbermann had stuck to sports.) Still, TV is a team sport, and we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Lombardi's morning radio and Channel 4 wingman, Gary Miller, who — as straight man — provides for a pitch-perfect balance to this team.

 

Best TV Weathercaster

Mike Nelson

Wonder which way the wind's blowing? Longtime prognosticator and weather wonk Mike Nelson knows, and he'll tell you early on Channel 7's ten o'clock newscast, when he offers an efficient, intelligent weathercast that goes into just enough depth on the minutiae of meteorology but also warns you if you'll need to get up early to shovel out the next morning. Nelson has a delivery that's as easy as a Chinook, but with the weight of an unexpected April blizzard behind it.

Best Way to Appreciate Union Station's Construction Chaos

DenverInfill's bi-weekly walking tours

DenverInfill.com has long been the go-to source for anything and everything going on in the city when it comes to construction. But for Denver's biggest construction project in years — the massive redevelopment of Union Station — website founder Ken Schroeppel stepped up his game. He and collaborator Rick Anstey host one-hour walking tours of the site on the first, third and fifth Saturday of the month starting at 10 a.m. in front of the historic station at 17th and Wynkoop streets. In exchange for a $10 suggested donation (proceeds go to the activist group Union Station Advocates), folks get an all-access look at Denver's very own Big Dig — from the guys who dig that Dig more than anybody.

Best Way to Understand the Budget

Backseat Budgeter

Balancing the state budget, as required by the Colorado Constitution, is no fun. But Backseat Budgeter does its best to make the process — or at least understanding the process — as pleasant as possible. This online simulator was created as a public service by Engaged Public, a political consulting firm, "to help citizens understand the tradeoffs associated with spending our public dollars." With a push from Colorado State University, the program not only lets you see how different decisions would affect the overall budget, but allows you to share your thoughts with the public officials who have to do the actual numbers-crunching. And while the Backseat Budgeter was created as a tool for understanding the Colorado State General Fund, it can be adapted for any public budget — a service that Engaged Public will provide at cost.

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