Fighting Words

A Denver Police Department officer who refused to allow the victim of a possible hate crime to press charges will face disciplinary action. On March 17, Nima Daivari, a 24-year-old law student visiting from New York, was strolling down the 16th Street Mall with friends. When a passing male called…

Letters to the Editor

Worst-Case Scenario, Kenny Be, July 26 Get a Life! Thank you for the hilarious “Ads for Bad Moms and Dads” Kenny Be cartoon! It makes me wonder: Why would anyone try to make abortion or birth control illegal when there is already so little respect for the life that’s already…

To ID or Not to ID

When I rolled up to the Division of Motor Vehicles this morning, I didn’t encounter any illicit ticket selling. No one induced me to reach the front of the line for a mere $50 — a practice, I’d heard, that has become increasingly common along the DMV’s unbearable wait times…

Patio Party

The nice suburban home covered in garish tchotchkes. Every town has one. In my home base of Ogden, Utah, we had the troll house, an old Victorian plastered by tiny naked dolls with neon hair. In Colorado Springs, where I recently moved from, we had the Theatre of Mankind. The…

If You Cut Me, Do I Not Bleed Orange and Blue

Slide show Used to be a time that Broncos Training Camp. meant one thing and one thing only: Greeley, Colorado. You see, these Broncos now-a-days, they’re soft, I tells ya. They cozily meander from their McMansions in Cherry Hills or whatever neighboring suburb in which they’ve set up shop and…

Cowtown Wowtown

Get ready for your close-up, Denver! A few weeks ago, a Tonight show crew came through town, gathering footage for a segment that will air tonight, a preview of what delegates can expect when they come to town a year from now for the Democratic National Convention. The piece features…

Tacos the Town

My cell phone rang around one in the morning. For most people, this would be a harbinger of bad news — kid in jail, someone in the hospital. For me, it almost always means work: a debriefing, confession, eleventh-hour emergency like a restaurant on fire or, worse, dead cold on…

HD Radio: The Original Vail Plan

As noted in this July 24 More Messages blog, former Colorado Public Radio board member Frances Koncilja, who resigned from the organization over her objections to a series of planned moves, is part of a new website that largely focuses on CPR. For proof, check out a recent entry revealing…

The Death of a Forgotten Candidate

When I first interviewed John Heckman back in 1984, he struck me as a bit elderly, at age 76, to be running for Congress in a race he didn’t have a lotto player’s chance of winning. Twenty-three years later, he was still running — for mayor, senator, governor, you name…

One More Time for Ruby Hill

As anticipated, the Denver City Council chose to once again postpone a vote on an ordinance that would allow Xcel Energy to erect new 111-foot transmission towers in Ruby Hill Park. The decision last night gives neighborhood group leaders until September 10 to come up with a way to pay…

Hard Rock Cafe A Total Misnomer

I don’t think that Kelly Clarkson can be considered hard rock. Neither can Sugar Ray vintage 1998 when Mark McGrath got down on his knees to deepthroat VH1. But that’s just my opinion. Obviously it should be left up to the experts, and when the Hard Rock Café decides to…

A Foss Loss

As a longtime fan of Foss General Store, a landmark in Golden since 1913, I was heartsick to discover that it’s slated to close soon — another victim of that bane to small-town businesses everywhere, the Big Box Store. But upon dropping by on Saturday, July 28, smack in the…

Kangaroo Road Kill — Sleepy Mad Max

7.30.07 Rockhampton, Australia Tropic of Capricorn PBC, I split the first two weeks in this country between Sydney and Melbourne, trying to erase the image of Foo the Saigon security guard and his red Thermos from my mind while also trying to locate the fabled Australian “spirit.” This spirit was…

Delegating Denver #2 of 56: Alaska

Alaska Click here to see a larger image. Total Number of Delegates: 18 Pledged: 13 Unpledged: 5 How to Recognize an Alaska Delegate: Outdoorsy Alaskans are as easy to spot as a pair of paint-splattered tan Timberland boots! Their distinctive look is typically centered around disheveled denim — whether it…

Lobster Sex Champagne, July 30

The entire breadth of digitized human knowledge at their fingertips and this is what America is searching today: Tom Snyder Long live Snyder, the host of the The Late Late Show, who died at the age of 71 yesterday. TMZ reports his catchphrase on the show Tomorrow, was “Fire up…

Back Home Bob

Bob Beauprez tells the Rocky that he decided to get back to his roots following his bid for governor by returning to the old family dairy farm. Only problem was that he had long ago developed the 700 acres into a suburban expansion of 1,300 homes called Indian Peaks. Can…

9News Hypes Javon Walker Non-Story

The idea of a tease in TV news is to offer just enough of a report to convince viewers they should stick around through a commercial break and watch the full piece. But such snippets aren’t supposed to be misleading — and the one sports anchor Rod Mackey employed during…

Labor Saver

No one would name El Paso County as a font of immigration reform. The Southern Colorado locality, where I-25 morphs into the Ronald Reagan highway, doesn’t exactly shine when it comes to welcoming our Mexican neighbors. At least two state delegates from the area belong to the border vigilante Minuteman…

The Simpsons Movie: Don’t Worry, It Doesn’t Suck!

If you’re ready to head off to the box office tonight to check out The Simpsons Movie, you won’t regret the decision. The movie, it does not suck. Check out the whole review here. Or, if you want to see what Marge and Homer look like when they’re imagined in…

Review: I Know Who Killed Me

Yep, Lindsay Lohan was able to finish a movie in between stints in jail and rehab. I Know Who Killed Me opens tonight at theaters everywhere. And while the powers that be didn’t offer a screening in time to make the paper version of Westword, we have one for you…

A Ruby Hill Agreement?

An agreement was reached in the Ruby Hill tower controversy Wednesday evening – an agreement to keep on talking. It’s not exactly the stunning pact one would expect from two closed-door meetings but, hey, it’s a beginning. Beginning of what, nobody is saying. Since all players are bound by a…