LETTERS

Reel Life Regarding Patricia Calhoun’s “The Mind Is Reeling,” in the December 21 issue, I can only respond: It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Phyllis Lawrence Denver In keeping with Calhoun’s theme, it’s obvious to me that the Westword staff gets its inspiration from old episodes of Lou Grant…

FLEE BARGAIN

As the two women hit and kicked him, Deputy Stan Marin struggled to keep a grip on his prisoner. It was the second time this year he’d had to fight a would-be escapee in the halls of Denver’s City and County Building. And this time he was losing. “I was…

OFF LIMITS

Mail call! In case you belong to one of the three households in Denver that did not receive a “Newt Gingrich Stole Christmas” card from Representative Pat Schroeder, it’s another cutout classic from our favorite congressional cutup. The reverse side updates recipients on the doings of the X-Generation Schroeders and…

THE FILLY THAT COULDN’T RUN STRAIGHT

We had Cuban sandwiches, oxtail stew and cold beer in a place on Southwest Eighth Street. Then we drove out to Calder in Martinez’s new Coupe de Ville. “Nice car, Henry,” I said. “It’s okay.” He shrugged. “Blessings of America. Who you like today?” I opened my fresh copy of…

LETTERS

Some Came Gunning Re: December 14’s “Under the Gun,” by Leslie Jorgensen and Sherry Keene-Osborn. It seems to me that one thing is very clear: If people like Francisco Duran cannot get guns (especially assault weapons!), then they cannot shoot at the president. It also seems to me that these…

TO THE BITTER END

In the mudfight that was last month’s Adams County sheriff’s election, incumbent Ed Camp was accused of–among other things–firing deputies who’d opposed him politically (“Cop-A-Doodle-Doo!,” September 28). And though Camp lost his bid for re-election and leaves office next month, it appears that loyalty is still high on his agenda:…

ON THE OUTSIDE

Two weeks before Christmas, black, gay, controversial AIDS activist Steve Arrington finds himself running out of money and time. Broke and staving off repeated AIDS-related infections, he says he’s been forgotten by the black community he has struggled to protect. When Arrington arrived in Denver in 1981, a homosexual social…

STOP THAT TRAIN!

For the past two years, the board of directors of the Regional Transportation District has been packed with mass-transit true believers convinced that light-rail trains are the answer to Denver’s transportation woes. In March, for instance, the board voted 12-2 to forge ahead with a light-rail link from Denver to…

IN LOVE WITH SANTA

The Saint Nick’s Santa, who suddenly appeared at this Christmas-only shop on South Santa Fe Drive one day seven years ago, is mysterious when asked the standard question all Santas get asked. Reached at the Ute Trail Motel in Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado, where he spends his weekdays, Santa (or…

A PAIN IN THE NECK

part 2 of 2 Stjernholm, Son and Grandson Buffalo Acres occupies a wedge of land in unincorporated Lakewood between Mt. Carbon Dam, which holds back Bear Creek Lake, and a new golf course. Dr. Stjernholm nods toward a nearby strip of green. He says, “There’s only one–fairway?–on this side. I…

UNDER THE GUN

Francisco Duran, the Colorado Springs man who allegedly attempted to assassinate President Bill Clinton in Washington, D.C., on October 29, was inspired to take action by a Colorado militia group. Although initially Duran’s White House shooting spree appeared to be an impulsive rampage, he actually put his plans together in…

A PAIN IN THE NECK

part 1 of 2 A friend writes: We want you to know about the tumor in our son Brandon’s neck, and how it was successfully treated by a Dr. of Chiropractic. We credit Dr. Alvin Stjernholm with saving Brandon’s life. Another friend writes: This letter is being written in thanks…

COLORADO SPRINGS TAKES A HIT

Although it’s unknown how many people belong to the top-secret paramilitary groups scattered around Colorado Springs and across the country, they all have one thing in common: a belief that they eventually will have to fight troops of the United Nations in the streets of their own towns in order…

OFF LIMITS

Deck the halls: Last Friday’s annual holiday bash for the Denver City Attorney’s Office turned out to be a little merrier than originally planned. Initially, the party committee’s scenario called for having a cash bar–but then the city lawyers discovered they couldn’t charge for liquor at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion, the…

MICKEY RAT

Baseball’s problems have grown bigger than Babe Ruth, what with the possibility that the clubs may not step to the plate next year, either. Do you sense a little corporate fright out there? In Kansas City, the Royals have cut general-admission ticket prices by a dollar in an attempt to…

A REAL CLASS ACT

On the evening of September 12, the blare of a fire alarm cleared the hallways and classrooms of Arapahoe Community College in Littleton. It was just a drill, but it sparked a sexual-harassment bonfire that has yet to die down. Outside the building that night, Richard Lebowitz and a male…

LETTERS

Teacher’s Fret Steve Jackson’s article on Delia Armstrong-Busby (“Practice What You Teach,” November 30) is a dismal commentary on American society. We have many problems, but our biggest is the seeming necessity to destroy anyone with the ability and guts to attempt to solve a problem. This case has nothing…

THE TAXMAN COMETH

After more than nine months of trying, the State of Colorado has succeeded in collecting close to $1,500 in delinquent taxes from state representative Glenda Swanson Lyle. Lyle, a Democrat from north Denver who was recently elected House minority whip, sent the state a cashier’s check covering most of the…

A CHOP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

At 26, Sarah Steinberg has the dogged persistence of a door-to-door salesman twice her age. In the face of a changing music industry, how else could the young deli worker/songwriter carry on? “I want to make it in the pop line,” she explains, “but pop is not what it was…

THE MONEY PIT

part 1 of 2 In 1977, when the inactive Glory Hole mine near Central City was being promoted as a tourist attraction, a visitor seated himself near the rim of the mine’s chasm and began eating a picnic lunch of fried chicken. The 900-foot-long gorge blasted down through 300 feet…

THE MONEY PIT

part 2 of 2 Caldwell, who even friends say sometimes has his own way with the truth, swears he met William Muchow in the White House during the Kennedy administration. A land developer, Caldwell claims he was there at Kennedy’s request coordinating a program aimed at improving relations between the…