Thursday, February 15, marks a day of reckoning for several area charter schools. That’s the day the Denver Public Schools Board of Education will make its final decision on renewing — or revoking — the charters of eight different schools, including P.S.1, the state’s oldest charter school at twelve years…
When Evan Dreyer was city editor for the Denver Post, I contacted him numerous times in regard to this column, but he didn’t always reply when the questions touched on uncomfortable topics — like veteran scribe Chuck Green’s disappearance from the paper under did-he-jump-or-was-he-pushed circumstances in 2002. Now that he’s…
It is at this point, and this exact point, that I would like to channel the Ghost of Bill Owens Past and boldly proclaim, “All of Colorado is on fire.” Of course, by “Colorado,” I mean “Park Hill,” the neighborhood that belched me out of her fecund loins, and by…
Flippin’ awesome: No sooner did the antics of 22-year-old skateboarder William Spencer go viral than he split town for California, where he’s reportedly exploring a career as a stuntman. His creative morphing of old-school skating elements with Parkour’s urban gymnastics — including board-to-board-to-board transfers — were documented last July on…
“One Wild Ride,” Adam Cayton-Holland, February 1 Free and Sleazy If Michelle Ormond is looking for sympathy, she can find it in the dictionary between “shit” and “syphilis.” If she wants to recover from her addiction, then fine. She can start by not being a Westword cover story complete with…
Doing three hours of stand-up is one thing. But for a comic to be funny for that entire time… well, that’s another thing entirely. While Dave Chappelle offered some truly gut-busting moments of hilarity during his marathon session at Comedy Works last night, there were also some bizarre instances, such…
I used to quake when I had to read during poetry class. It was bad enough just having to raise my voice to an audible level in front of unsubjective others, let alone having to bare my soul in public. But on the other hand, there was also a fleeting…
It was more of the same at New York Fashion Week. More ’80s, more blousy, formless shifts, more middle finger to the female form. Cat doesn’t expect everything to be all va-va-va voom, but unless you’re a pre-pubescent girl or starve yourself into looking like one, most of the fall…
We knew that local skateboarder William Spencer was the purveyor of some wacky tricks, but this? Fast plants, early grabs, finger flips, uh, hand stands . . . board-to-board-to-board transfers? His skills first went on display when the Denver Shop, a skateboard hangout, premiered the video “Hollarado!” last July. But…
Lately, the reputation of Colorado Springs Big Mac mogul-turned-social entrepreneur Steve Bigari (pictured) has become super-sized. First, the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce gave him the 2006 Business Citizen of the Year Award. Next, he scored a $250,000 grant from venture philanthropy fund New Profit for his nonprofit America’s…
At 7 p.m. on Monday, February 12, Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain will air an edition of its Drew Goodman-hosted Spotlight series focusing on Denver photographer Rich Clarkson. The program will concentrate on Clarkson’s accomplishments in the field of sports, and there have been loads of them. For instance, he’s…
I knew the melt was on yesterday when I did something I haven’t been brave enough to do since December 20: drive to work with a cup of coffee. You wouldn’t stop by Starbucks before getting on a bucking bronco, and maneuvering our rutted streets was a real rodeo. I…
All of you out there in Hotcakesland, take note: National Pancake Day is coming! And what, exactly, is National Pancake Day? Well, that depends on who you ask… If you want to take a historical view, this year’s National Pancake Day will be on Tuesday, February 20 — otherwise known…
Getty Images The pickings were slim for “good” options today, but Cat likes this Sass & Bide blouse. Or dress. Or tunic. Cat’s not really sure. Getty Images THE GOOD: Alexandre Herchcovitch offers this interesting take on the tweed coat. The shape and detail are fresh and flattering. It’s apparent…
Offense Report No: 07-46992 Date: 1-22-07 Location of Offense: 550 South Federal Boulevard Type of Premises: Restaurant Officer Jessica Wangrow writes: “Investigation disclosed that unknown suspect(s) approached the Baker’s Palace in a red Jeep Cherokee. A Hispanic male entered the bakery and took the tip jar, then ran out of…
Getty Images Duckie Brown’s line comes out fighting. At least that’s what Cat thinks those yellow gloves are for. Getty Images Grunge grows up at Duckie Brown? Cat thought Friday’s Fashion Week shows were going to be good for men, with John Bartlett, Perry Ellis and Duckie Brown all on…
The Internet age has given the written word a half-life on par with nuclear fuel rods. As evidence, consider an out-of-the-blue reaction to “Heavy, Man,” a list of the ten worst concept albums ever made. “Heavy” was penned by Serene Dominic, who used to be a frequent contributor to the…
Have you Backbeat readers out there been wondering what happened to Playlist? For a variety of reasons, our regular collection of national and local CD reviews hasn’t appeared in the published issues of Westword since December — and as a result, the critiques we prepared for January papers are no…
The current issue of the Boulder Weekly contains one of its more bizarre (and dubious) features in recent memory: a sprawling Q&A with Pamela Clare, author of a new romantic thriller entitled Hard Evidence. What’s so weird about that? Because Clare is actually Pam White, who just happens to edit…..
Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland (pictured) could have been Colorado’s lieutenant governor; she was Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez’s running mate. But since losing out on the opportunity to serve in the state’s second-most powerful office, she appears to be trashing journalism ethics one medium at a time: first TV…
Page one of newspapers has long been considered safe from advertising — but this may not remain the case much longer. A recent article in Editor & Publisher, a journalism-industry trade publication, points out that several Northern California publications owned by MediaNews Group, whose flagship paper is the Denver Post,…
From the first note to the last, the Karl Denson Trio rocked Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom Saturday night. There are few fine musicians in this world whose fans can generally agree that the artist is better every time they step on stage — and Denson is one of those artists. Denson…
