Mel Van Nice can be found near the front lines. The 29-year-old never has to think long for the answer to anything, and when a problem hits, she already seems to know what it is. In the cold, after riots and in moments of chronic illness, her most demanding function…
Growing accustomed to life at the occupation takes time. Yesterday morning, James Gardner awoke at four to the sounds of a drunk man cursing, and before he finishes that story, a quick fight starts, a blade is removed from a pocket and its user is evicted from the camp in…
Occupy Denver’s social media campaign shares as many worries about the ongoing snow as do its protesters: Throughout the night, the group’s Twitter account documented warnings of the inches that landed on the gathering as it slept. And though last week’s first burst of white ended with five hospitalizations, last…
Colorado ACLU communications director Rosemary Harris Lytle confirms her organization has launched an investigation of “an escalation of police force” at Occupy Denver — like, for example, the shooting of Phillip Becarra, seen here, with pepper bullets. The ACLU has expressed concerns about both the safety and constitutional implications of…
Among the more unusual ballot items approved in Colorado’s election yesterday was Boulder Question 2H, which calls for a constitutional amendment to declare that corporations are not people. And Boulder City Councilman Macon Cowles, one of 2H’s most vocal backers, believes voters sent a message that echoes Occupy Wall Street’s…
In the run-up to yesterday’s election, Rollie Heath, chief backer of the Proposition 103 education tax, told us the vote would be “very, very close.” But it wasn’t — and its statewide defeat was joined in misery by Initiative 300, which would have mandated paid sick days in Denver…
On Friday afternoon, the day before Occupy Denver’s most violent evening to date, Aaron “Al” Nesby worried he might be arrested. The chances were good, he admits, so he warned a friend to look out for him and check the media for his name on an arrest list. As fate…
Occupy Denver may not be among the largest of the Occupy Wall Street spinoffs, but increasing violence and the growing number of arrests have gotten the national media’s attention. Witness the appearance last night on Countdown with Keith Olbermann by Occupy Denver’s Jeannie Hartley. One of the group’s most active…
Since Saturday’s Occupy Denver protest ended with more arrests, much attention has focused on two investigations for felony assault of a police officer. But neither Denver Police nor the DA’s office have named anyone other than Westword interviewee John Sexton as being under felony investigation. And though the second case…
On Halloween night, an evening notorious for tricks, treats and the increased police presence that mix requires, Occupy Denver was met by 21 police cars over an hour an a half. After a failed attempt by protesters to meet with city council, ten police cars monitored six occupiers outside the…
Occupy Denver is recharging quickly after its most violent interaction with police to date. The fourth incarnation of the Thunderdome, the group’s kitchen tent, popped up even before the police left, and last night marked a peace vigil to refocus the gathering after a less than peaceful Saturday. But the…
John Sexton turned 33 this morning, and his birthday gifts have so far been slim: He was released from prison a couple hours ago, and his first birthday wish was from someone in a nearby holding cell. After a tense conversation with his mother, she, too, wished him a happy…
Tomorrow, voters will be asked to weigh in on Proposition 103, which would hike taxes to raise money for schools. Senator Rollie Heath, the measure’s most familiar proponent, is unwilling to predict victory. But he believes the vote will be “very, very close” — and he’s optimistic about the measure’s…
Today’s arraignment for last night’s Occupy Denver arrests continued a vein of strict bond rates applied across the board. Lawyers received little time to speak to those arrested, and though all pleaded not guilty, all misdemeanor charges were met with a bond rate of $550. Part-time magistrate John Hoffman allowed…
Update, 11:01 p.m. October 29: Twenty people were arrested during what has been Occupy Denver’s most violent day in weeks. All evidence of the Thunderdome and the front desk has been removed, and officers offered protesters the chance to claim their belongings one at a time as the area was…
Tony Song isn’t big on specifics. He moved to Denver “a few months ago,” he sleeps “wherever I can lay my head,” and he joined the city’s occupation “three or four days in, probably.” He doesn’t make plans. He’s not sure why he picked Denver, but he does “like traveling…
President Barack Obama announced last Friday that the vast majority of U.S. troops — about 39,000 of them — would be out of Iraq by December 31. But not everyone is happy about the imminent end of the ten-year-involvement, including Emad Hussain, a former member of the Iraqi Olympics Committee,…
Let’s recap: By this point, It has been firmly established that Mayor Michael Hancock, the Denver Police Department, Governor John Hickenlooper and the Colorado State Patrol have no intention of allowing Occupy Denver to use tents. Such encampments have been referred to as a “shantytown” by police, even though tents…
One of this weekend’s biggest downtown events — Saturday’s Denver Gorilla Run — features a route that crosses past the 16th Street Mall but doesn’t take place on it. That’s no doubt a relief to the RTD. Last Saturday’s events — including the Zombie Crawl and separate marches involving Occupy…
Occupy Denver and the Colorado Progressive Coalition combined forces for a civil disobedience tour de force today, with events taking on both Tom Donohue, the president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, and Wells Fargo. The only problem: The police got there first. Both times…
In the classic 1967 drama The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman’s character is offered one word, just one word of advice from an avuncular businessman: plastics. “There’s a great future in plastics,” the man whispers. But that future is pretty much past in the Roaring Fork Valley — which, town by town,…
The last time Dwayne Hudson spoke to his children, it was October 2004. The next seven years were spent reading, working out, studying and thinking of the now fourteen-year-old Dwayne Jr. and his thirteen-year-old sister, Asenath, whose name stems from the Old Testament. This time was spent in a Denver…
