Opinion & Commentary

Ballots should start hitting mailboxes today in the 46 (out of 64) counties that are conducting the August 10 primary solely by mail-in ballot. The only mailboxes that will get ballots belong to voters who are already registered to one of the major political parties that have contested races –…

Scott McInnis may be “in it to win it,” but Tom Tancredo is in it to spin it. If the former congressman can figure out a way to get into the gubernatorial race alongside “Musings on Water” McInnis and Dan Maes, the dark-horse candidate who was at his most popular…

When Tony’s Market decided to open a downtown store, it added an amenity you won’t find at any of the suburban Tony’s outlets: a bistro where you can not only sit and enjoy a meal, but order an alcoholic beverage to take with you as you shop, since the liquor…

“There’s nothing more enjoyable than pissing off liberals,” said Jon Caldara, head of the Independence institute, at the think tank’s annual ATF — Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms — event on Saturday, a free-for-all of free-market talk, drinking alcohol, smoking cigars and shooting guns. But it wasn’t as easy as it…

John Hickenlooper’s campaign is pushing some new gear: bumperstickers, pint glasses and T-shirts. But what it really should be selling is a version of the invisible lucky asbestos underpants Hickenlooper must be wearing — because even as his staffers gear up for the inevitable mud-slinging, all the dirt is sticking…

After this week, you can safely assume Scott McInnis won’t be subscribing to the Denver Post anytime soon. Because not only is the beleaguered Republican gubernatorial candidate an alleged plagiarist, he’s also a penny pincher…

It’s hard to imagine Denver without Lauri Lynnxe Murphy. But it’s time to start trying, because six weeks from now, the artist/entrepreneur will pack her bags and her big ideas and head off to Ohio State, where she’s got “the best fellowship ever.” Before that, though, Murphy’s overseeing the biggest…

In the days after the Denver Department of Public Works turned down a request by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to place a 250-pound statue of a bloodied and bandaged chicken — “McCruelty,” PETA dubbed it — on the 16th Street Mall, saying that it would violate the…

While checking out the Biennial of the Americas website today, I spotted a new feature: host restaurants in the “what’s hot” corner. Click the link, and you find 25 local restaurants — ranging from 8 Rivers to Black Pearl to Vesta Dipping Grill — that are either hyping the Biennial-appropriate…

Money can’t buy you everything — although it can certainly smooth the way for a while. The Hasan family fortune provided the base for the Hasam Family Foundation, which paid $300,000 to Scott McInnis for his “Musings on Water.” And it also helped fuel the political ambitions of son Ali…

“Not a peep,” said spokeswoman Ann Williams when I asked last week if the Denver Department of Public Works had heard anything from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals after the city declared that displaying PETA’s “McCruelty,” a 250-pound statue of a bloodied and bandaged chicken, would violate…

The White Nose Syndrome sounds like a relic of the Studio 54 era. But the fungus, which has been killing bats in caves in the eastern United States, has spread far enough west that as early as today, the U.S. Forest Service Region 2 office in Golden will announce that…

“It’s a great day to be in Lone Tree!,” promises that small suburb’s web site. But yesterday wasn’t such a great day for Lone Tree officials, who discovered in this Denver Post story that John Andrews had named the guiding manifesto for this weekend’s Western Conservative summit the “Lone Tree…

Denver International Airport has thirty pieces of art in its permanent collection, not including “Mountain Mirage,” which will soon disappear entirely, and Anubis, the Tut-touting statue at DIA until late this month. Too bad it won’t be around longer: I like having the God of the Underworld greeting visitors at…

Welcome to Denver,” chirps Mayor John Hickenlooper as the train pulls into the terminal at Denver International Airport. “The Mile High City.” But the fun doesn’t stop at 5,280 feet — because the sky’s the limit for stories about DIA. The airport has already inspired a planeload of conspiracy theories…

Aliens could be one of the hottest issues on the November ballot. Not illegal ones from south of the border, but those sneaky bastards from up in the sky. Would-be voters have only a few days left to register for the August 10 primary. But even if they decide to…

Last year, it was potato salad. This year, the Denver Public Library is making book on salsa, asking readers to submit their best recipes; the top six will battle it out for $600 in prizes during Salsa Wars. Organizer Chris Loffelmacher promises that this Fresh City Life program, held in…

City boosters are calling this Denver’s blockbuster summer, but we were still surprised to see publicity bust out across the border, with a sign for the Denver Art Museum’s show featuring King Tut — he of the missing penis — an hour outside of Casper on Highway 220. So near,…

The Minturn Saloon has been named “best Colorado ski bar” by Outside magazine in the July issue — and the venerable watering hole, which is just starting its 35th year and occupies a building in Minturn that dates back to 1901, deserves the honor. “On any winter day,” Outside writes,…

Channel 12, once an upstart public television station, has turned a respectable thirty, with a respectable new brand, Colorado Public Television, replacing the old KBDI. But tonight’s installment of Colorado Inside Out, the weekly current events show, will feature a completely disresputable look back at 1935. On my part, at…