Opinion & Commentary

Denver ballots arrived in mailboxes across town this past weekend — and those that went to residents of District 8 still include the name of incumbent councilwoman Carla Madison, who was running unopposed when she passed away on April 5, after the ballots for this all mail-in election were printed…

Wes McKinley has always done his civic duty — even if those in power might quibble with how he defines it. Twenty years ago, the rancher/teacher from Walsh was the foreman of the federal grand jury that wanted to indict eight individuals for environmental crimes at Rocky Flats — but…

A new Marco’s Pizza is about to open in Northfield Stapleton. No, not a branch of Osteria Marco, Frank Bonanno’s restaurant in Larimer Square. And not another Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizzeria. Next month, Nick Costanzo will open a Marco’s Pizza at 8286 Northfield Boulevard; it will be the sixth Marco’s Pizza…

No matter who becomes Denver’s next mayor, it looks like the winning candidate will inherit a tidier, if more pissed-off police department — and he or she will have interim mayor Bill Vidal to thank. Vidal might have had second thoughts about his decision not to run for mayor himself,…

People love looking at food. Food they might possibly make for dinner, food they’ll never get close to — like this “Altitude-high food porn from the Taste of Vail.” That’s why pictures of food are often labeled “porn,” as in Laura Shunk’s “Food Porn: Pizzeria Basta” post that accompanied her…

At their meeting last night, Denver City Council members wore orange in honor of their colleague, Carla Madison, who died last week. But Madison was not just in their hearts and thoughts: She was on the agenda, because people are lining up to run for her seat — even as…

People have already forgotten,” Shirley Garcia says. “They can’t forget what’s there.” Garcia never will. When she and her husband moved from Texas to Jefferson County thirty years ago, they bought a house in the Countryside development – and the realtor handed them some papers to sign acknowledging that they…

The history hunters gathered under the giant statue of Yogi Bear, armed with maps and metal detectors, in what had to be one of the strangest mash-ups ever: Hanna-Barbera meets barbarism. The crew had convened on April 2 at Jellystone Park Camp-Resort, a franchise of the national chain located just…

Across town this weekend, people were mourning the loss of Denver City Councilwoman Carla Madison, not just the council’s most colorful representative, but also one of its active and involved, always appearing at community events, even as her cancer advanced. And now there will be an event in her honor…

Here’s your chief’s hat, what’s your hurry? With many of the mayoral candidates saying that Denver Police Chief Gerald Whitman should go — and Whitman himself saying he would resign if asked — some people, including the author of today’s Denver Post editorial, are calling for the next mayor to…

Dive right in, the water — and beer — is fine! Our list of the town’s Five Best Dive Bars — starting with the Kentucky Inn, winner of the Best Dive Bar in the Best of Denver 2011 — has fans of dive bars and definitions alike plunging into the…

Carla Madison, who died on Tuesday, wasn’t just Denver City Council’s most colorful member. She wasn’t just the most likable, someone who’s inspired an outpouring of heartfelt comments and fond memories. She might also have been its hardest-working, the go-to choice when there was a special job that needed to…

It’s been rumored for years, and the front page of today’s Denver Post makes it official: Denver is doing away with the “Barnes Dance,” the diagonal crosswalks that were invented in this city sixty years ago by traffic engineer Henry Barnes. What’s next? The elimination of the Denver Boot?…

My e-mail this morning contained not one, but two messages mocking Corona Light, my beer of choice. Make that “almost-beer” of choice, corrects a friend. Another wrote that he would not be voting for a certain mayoral candidate, who was photographed drinking Corona — and that bottle was at least…

April in Colorado: Record-breaking highs on Saturday, huge snow dumps on Sunday… with the results seen here, in an area in the trees of Mary Jane known as Topher’s Run. Winter Park could be busy today, since I-70 will be closed at Empire — and the resort is offering $59…

A few minutes ago, as I was looking across I-25 toward Invesco Field at Mile High, an e-mail popped up from the man who’d given such a stirring speech at that stadium in August 2008: Barack Obama. But compared to the soaring emotions and symbolism of that night — the…

Last night I wandered around the Ballpark neighborhood, which was bustling with preparations for opening day, thinking about how much this area has changed since the decision was made to put the baseball stadium just beyond the LoDo Historic District. Thinking about how the Ballpark neighborhood might never have been…

The Best of Denver 2011 had just hit the streets, so I hit a handy liquor store on my way to a haircut appointment yesterday. The owner met me at the register. “Mondo Vino!” he said. Oops. Mondo Vino had just been named the Best Wine Shop; I was at…

The plans for the new, improved City, O’ City go to the city today. Dan Landes, who opened the original WaterCourse Foods in the City, O City space in 1998, has now bought the whole building, which will allow for a major overhaul of City, O’ City, as well as…

At night, as you drive north along Speer Boulevard through downtown, you catch sight of an eerie glow to the right — and no, it’s not the soon-to-be-extinguished Qwest sign.The Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex, that massive building at the edge of the Denver Performing Arts Complex, has suddenly turned blue…