A Swift Kick Regarding Harrison Fletcher's July 29 "Boot Hell": Axis Commercial Realty says it followed a Cherry Creek property owner's lead in booting "parking scofflaws headed for Starbucks." What it does not mention is that the greedy little private boot bastards actually sit around watching to nail people for...
Columbine, Friend of Crime? I've written to you guys before to congratulate you on your investigative reporting and was moved to write again after reading Alan Prendergast's "Doom Rules," in the August 5 issue. The sympathy-and-blame-fest the rest of the media enjoyed for months after the Columbine shootings made me...
Sam Riddle is Colorado's man of the hour. The $250 hour. Next Monday, members of the Legislative Audit Committee (who, as lawmakers, collect considerably less for their labors than Riddle does for consulting) will dissect the state auditor's report on Riddle's deal, a personal-services contract with Secretary of State Victoria...
Sam on Wry In regard to Patricia Calhoun's July 22 column, "The Answer to a Riddle," I'm glad to see that Sam Riddle is taking some heat! I've heard Tom Martino and Peter Boyles speak their minds about Sam, but it was nice to see a lengthy and thoughtful editorial...
A Word to the Wives Juliet Wittman's July 15 "Dead Reckoning" was an excellent story. Well-researched and very evocative as to person, place, time and the circumstances of both women's lives. I loved how a "rough-and-tumble" life such as Robson's was still presented in the context of her value as...
Bruce Chopnik drinks Coors beer. Under normal circumstances, that's not a big deal -- hell, lots of men drink Coors -- but Bruce Chopnik is also International Mr. Leather. He earned his title fair and square at a pageant in Chicago earlier this year by scoring high on the question-and-answer...
Society's Child I actually was relieved to finally read the last chapter of Steve Jackson's "Dealing with the Devil," in the June 3 issue. I am a member of the local media as well, and I must say I've never seen a story so in-depth and detailed. I must also...
When Cartoons Are Outlawed ... Regarding the July 1 Off Limits: M. Wartella's "Sell Your Soul to Evil" cartoon clearly expresses satire and was not meant to be taken seriously--it was in part to amuse, and also to make us think. The other responses reinforce the age-old observation that people...
A Life or Death Matter Regarding Steve Jackson's "The Final Judgment," in the May 27 issue: While there is no question that Brandy DuVall would most likely still be alive if she had been home the evening she was abducted, I still do not believe that state-sponsored blood sport in...
Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow I can't thank you enough for the incredibly realistic portrayal of the Coors Field vendors in Justin Berton's "Blood Sweat and Beers," in the July 8 issue. Having been a vendor with the Rockies for their first five years, it brought a smile to my face...
A Matter of Life and Death We would like to make some comments regarding Steve Jackson's "Dealing with the Devil" series, which concluded in the June 3 issue. First of all, the Warren brothers are not related to Francisco "Pancho" Martinez. Second, we feel that the justice system has failed...
The day may dawn clear, but Saturday's 125th Kentucky Derby will be run under a cloud--or rather, three or four clouds--that help explain the unhappy state of American horse racing. First, as twenty unpredictable three-year-olds go to the post at Churchill Downs, the memory of Charlie Whittingham is sure to...
Best Wishes I couldn't believe that Westword readers actually chose Taco Bell for Best Taco and smelly old McDonald's for Best French Fries. I'm sure there were similar insults in other categories, but I don't want to know. That is last-resort food! It's cheap, convenient and disgusting. Maybe I can...
A Matter of Conviction I wanted to thank Westword for Juliet Wittman's story of Lisl Auman, "Zero to Life," in the April 15 issue. I believe I now have a clearer idea of the actual events, and it seems obvious that life in prison is in no way warranted for...
The Reverend Joel Miller stood solemnly before his congregation. The normally jubilant Miller had moved to Colorado only a few months earlier and was already known for injecting his sermons with lively anecdotes--but this Sunday, the usual spark was missing. The congregation could tell something was wrong, and later, Miller...
Little Grouse on the Prairie High school is indeed hell, as Patricia Calhoun points out in her May 20 column, "Pomp and Circumstances." Although nothing excuses the shootings at Columbine, I am sure that that high school, like Kiowa High School and all other high schools, had no shortage of...
Cydney Payton, the director of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, has little trouble filling the place with exciting exhibits. In fact, she's crammed so much into BMoCA that one of the four current shows, Housed, begins not in the museum, but on the street out front. Housed is a...
The Hating Game In the May 6 issue, I read first in Patricia Calhoun's "The Ten Commandments," then in Kenny Be's Worst-Case Scenario, of Vikki Buckley attributing the Columbine shootings to "new-age hate crimes." What I want is for someone to corner this feeder at the public trough and ask...
What's the Agenda? From Patricia Calhoun's "Opportunism Knocks," in the April 29 issue: "On Sunday, Colorado Right to Life gave birth to this announcement: 'Today our organization reminds Governor Bill Owens and all Colorado elected officials that 32 years ago--April 25, 1967--this state signed into law the first in the...
Some Stern Talk I'm not sure what affiliation, if any, Westword has with KXPK-FM (the Peak), but in searching the Internet, I found Celebrity Death Slalom, a contest depicting Howard Stern, Leo DiCaprio and Calista Flockhart. I would ask you to join in my disgust that Howard Stern is afforded...
From Whom the Baby Bell Tolls Regarding Stuart Steers's "Disconnected," in the April 8 issue: Whenever people such as Sol Trujillo talk about the thorough competitiveness of the telecommunications industry here in the state of Colorado, he had better read some of the comments made in this outstanding Westword article...
Several pieces of proposed legislation making their way through the Colorado General Assembly raise the question: If Secretary of State Vikki Buckley had nothing left to do, could she do it well? Early last week, three bills designed to take away a huge chunk of her responsibilities were awaiting action...
