Denver mayor’s race: And they’re off!

Now that John Hickenlooper has been sworn in as governor, and Bill Vidal is officially Denver’s interim mayor, the focus will soon shift to the race for the next mayor. A dozen candidates have already declared, and two high-profile names — Linda Alvarado and Walter Isenberg — are reportedly mulling…

Worth a thousand words: John Hickenlooper and the Wynkoop’s founders

The four friends stand on the sidewalk in their dirty sneakers, jeans and T-shirts, beneath a sign advertising their ambitious new project: the Wynkoop Brewing Company, “developed under the City and County of Denver’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Program.” Behind them is the circa-1899 J. S. Brown Mercantile Building, a…

Denver mayoral races are not easy to predict

John Hickenlooper had not yet resigned the office of Denver mayor before a trio of candidates angling for that spot held open houses at their campaign headquarters this past week. Denver City Councilman Michael Hancock was the first; his campaign occupies the lucky space at 1100 Bannock Street that housed…

John Hickenlooper hits first obstacle to becoming governor

Next Tuesday morning, John Hickenlooper will resign his post as Denver mayor, a job he’s held almost eight years, but is giving up to become Colorado governor, and walk out of the City and County Building and across Civic Center Park towards the State Capitol — right into a fence…

Michael Hancock has a lucky address in his run for Denver mayor

And they’re off! John Hickenlooper won’t resign the office of Denver mayor until 8:30 a.m. next Tuesday (ninety minutes before he’s sworn in as governor), but the ever-increasing group of candidates who’d like to occupy that office next will be holding open houses over the next few days. First up:…

California Zephyr heading into Union Station

The sun just started to edge up over the horizon after we passed Fort Morgan: The California Zephyr is running an hour or so late, but the miracle is that it’s going at all, after the mess the snowstorm made of the East Coast…

Making tracks to Colorado on the train

My first view of Colorado was from the train, at dawn, as the Denver Zephyr hurtled across the plains from Chicago. A horde of families from the ‘burbs were headed to the mountains for a budget ski vacation, and after fueling all-night shenanigans in the Dome Car with endless snacks,…

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…

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…