Andrew Romanoff’s latest fundraising request is a winner

Andrew Romanoff’s had one head-spinning year. Passed over by Governor Bill Ritter in his quest to be appointed to Ken Salazar’s Senate seat, Romanoff snubbed any White House entreaties regarding a job in international development in order to take on Senate appointee Michael Bennet. But even though Romanoff lost to…

Christmas is over, but the city’s lights glow on

Christmas is over, but the holiday show is still up at the Denver City & County Building. This season’s run will end sooner than usual, with the steps cleared of the Nativity and Santa’s horrific hoedown on January 15 to make way for the Big Air show coming to Civic…

Remembering Sandy Widener, John Parr and Chase Parr

The reminder for the memorial site at muchloved.com came in at 5:01 this morning. I did not need it: Not a day goes by that I do not think about Sandy Widener, John Parr and Chase Parr, the three members of a much-loved Colorado family who died in a horrific…

El Paso County Jail’s postcard-only policy is returned to sender

Prisoners in El Paso County got an early Christmas present yesterday, when county officials agreed to stop limiting outgoing inmate mail to just postcards. The ACLU had filed suit against that policy, which the El Paso County Jail adopted this summer, arguing that such restrictions for prisoners who are awaiting…

Is it racist to give my Mexican gardener my old stuff?

Dear Mexican: I live in a moderately fancy-ass suburb of Dallas, am super-white and make decent money. Naturally, I have a Mexican gardener/lawn dude who works his ass off, has fourteen brothers and sisters in Guanajuato, employs all his relatives, etc. He also has a sweet wife and three little…

Will it be lights out for Qwest’s blue sign?

For years, the blue light of the Qwest sign has dominated the downtown Denver skyline, even as its been joined by other light shows — the spire on the Four Seasons, the logo atop the Xcel building. But if the merger deal between Qwest and CenturyLink goes through, will it…

Reader claims that Mexico has a defective culture

Dear Mexican: Someone wrote you a while back wondering why Mexicans have made a mess of their beautiful country. You got all bent out of shape because he called Mexico a Third World country instead of a “bottom tier” First World country. I think you missed the point of the…

7-Eleven stores dueling signs shine spotlight on LoDo Aglow

I spent much of last night careening around LoDo, looking at the 21 decorated windows that are competing in the LoDo Aglow contest — only some of which were actually aglow. But it was impossible to miss two very lit-up new 7-Eleven stores on 18th Street, only three short blocks…

Why do Mexican teenagers shave their heads?

Dear Mexican: Why can AeroMexico Airlines fly through any kind of weather conditions to get to and from the United States, but any kind of little ice sprinkle or heavy wind, and domestic airlines in the U.S. cancel two days’ worth of flights? For two consecutive winters, I’ve had Chicago-to-Houston-to-Leon,…

Denver Nativity Scene: What grinch stole this Christmas mural?

Denver’s holiday display wasn’t always such an orgy of bad taste. Back in 1935, just three years after the Denver City and County Building was completed, muralist Louise Emerson Ronnebeck created a 76-foot-long Nativity painting for its pediment — a painting that has since gone missing. What grinch stole this…

Pit-bull service-dog exemption rejected by Denver City Council

Long before the Americans with Disabilities Act was revised to protect pit bulls as service dogs, critics have been snapping at Denver’s 1989 ordinance that bans the breed. But last night, Denver City Council brushed aside both the critics and the feds in upholding the ban. And that bites!…

Parking ticket Scrooge has no holiday spirit: Bah humbug!

Bah humbug. On Wednesday, while I was inside the Denver Motor Vehicle office renewing my plates, my car parked outside on Welton Street was ticketed — for expired plates. Yesterday, I visited the parking referee — and here’s some free advice that will cost me $75: Do not expect mercy…