All those outdoor fireplaces at the big-box stores look like they’d make great holiday gifts — but not for Denver residents. Because outdoor fires are banned here, unless they’re used for cooking. One fire-loving Platt Park couple learned that last winter, when they were huddled around their backyard chiminea and…
Dear Readers: Behold your favorite Mexican’s annual Christmas gift guide, where I give shout-outs to some of my favorite books that deserve your money this holiday season! And for once I won’t recommend my books — ¡Ask a Mexican!, Orange County: A Personal History and Taco USA: How Mexican Food…
The situation was stupid enough that Ken Salazar probably wanted to punch someone. When the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was unveiled in 2011, eagle-eyed wordsmiths quickly pointed out that one of the quotes etched into the granite monument had taken King’s words out of context, making him seem like…
The Backseat Budgeter, our Best of Denver 2011 winner for Best Way to Understand the Budget, is back — and just in time. Mayor Michael Hancock’s push for the passage of 2A last month — a deBrucing that allows the city to retain extra money collected — resulted in an…
When John Hickenlooper addressed the Democratic National Convention in early September, he emphasized how Coloradans could overcome party differences to collaborate — unlike Congress. And Coloradans offered an impressive display of collaboration yesterday, when former Senator Hank Brown, a Republican, and Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat, unveiled the Colorado Compact…
With all the bad news about media layoffs, here’s a real reason to celebrate: Tonight, the Open Media Foundation will celebrate six years of independent voices on Denver Open Media — which not only runs Denver’s public-access channels on Comcast, but also provides training and services for non-profits and kids…
Last week, the mayor’s office confirmed that Fuqua Development and its capital partner, the Lionstone Group, were negotiating with King Soopers regarding the anchor retail spot in a revised development plan for the former CU Health Sciences Center property at East Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. What went unsaid is…
Dear Mexican: Why is it that many Mexican women hate on me for having an Asian (Korean, to be exact) novia? I notice this in a lot of places. We go to the store and I get looks. We go to the movies and people look or say things like…
Travel guru Arthur Frommer predicts big 2013 tourism gains for six disparate destinations: Miami Beach, Dubai, India and Lima, Peru, plus Seattle and Denver. Why are the last two so hot? Pot, of course…
Update: Denver City Council made some history last night when it approved changes to the city’s landmark ordinance. Today, the Department of Community Planning and Development Community Planning and Development finished the job by raising the landmark application fee from $250 to $875…
Ken Foster, author of I’m a Good Dog, didn’t plan on making a stop in Denver. “But as the book’s publication date approached, I began to see how much the book meant to people who love their dogs,” Foster told us. “And it felt like an oversight not to do…
Has Colorado’s official tourism effort gone to pot? A new video posted on YouTube suggests that, and it only makes sense: After all, not only did the state’s voters approve Amendment 64, which makes recreational pot use legal in Colorado, but the state tourism office just hosted meetings on agritourism…
Dear Mexican: In President Bush’s State of the Union address, he reiterated a need for a guest-worker program. What is your opinion of such a program? The program seems like mierda that screws people over in the long run to me, but what do I know? Una Guerita por un…
Late on November 6, after Coloradans had voted overwhelmingly to legalize recreational use of marijuana, Governor John Hickenlooper warned that given federal law, the state’s residents shouldn’t “break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly.” But that very day, as it turns out, another Coloradan had taken aim at one…
Timing is everything: While tempers are flaring over the shooting of a pit bull named Chloe this past weekend — an act that Commerce City police defend — Ken Foster, author of I’m a Good Dog: Pit Bulls, America’s Most Beautiful (and Misunderstood) Pet, is on his way to Denver…
The hike leads to a southern Utah canyon with a stunning view. The canyon itself has a name that stuns many of the hikers who hear it: Negro Bill Canyon. And this name was changed in the ’60s to clean up a more derogatory title that ostensibly honored a black…
Just in case you didn’t spend enough time in front of the television last night, Colorado Public Television is giving you two more hours of very good reasons to stay seated: a mini-marathon of the time-machine shows that the crew behind Colorado Inside Out, which normally focuses on current events,…
Dear Mexican: My granddaughters were born and raised in Georgia, as was their father. Their knowledge of their culture is zero, and I have tried to educate them by talking to them and even writing a book of my life growing up in New Mexico that discusses the history, lifestyle…
Who’s the biggest turkey of the year? With the election season barely over, it’s easy to focus on all the pundits who insisted Colorado’s swing-state vote would decide the election — when Barack Obama had already won his second term before our polling places closed. But there are many, many…
Esquire magazine has chosen its “Americans of the Year 2012,” and is rolling out stories on the fifteen honored Americans this week. Already revealed: Bradley Cooper (the cover boy), Bruce Springsteen, Lena Dunham, Elon Musk, Travon Martin, John Roberts, Prince Harry (Honorary)…and Colorado’s governor, John Hickenlooper…
Denver City Council President Mary Beth Susman, who represents District 5 covering eastern Denver, will hold a town hall meeting tonight. But one of the big agenda issues has been dropped: Because developer Jeff Fuqua has not submitted a new plan for the Colorado Boulevard Healthcare District, with a list…
Dear Mexican: Lately I’ve noticed a few bands, como Voodoo Glow Skulls, have embraced ska music both at home and in Mexico. I was curious what the appeal is for Mexicans in ska music. Also, if you had to turn people to Mexican ska, what would be your top five…
