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Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword‘s news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

michaelrobertscolo@gmail.com

Eleven Ways the Trump Administration May Try to Kill Legal Marijuana

By Michael Roberts

Members of the Justice Department’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety have been ordered to “undertake a review of existing policies” regarding federal marijuana law enforcement, among other things. Their report is due on or before July 27, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws believes the document may use as its template a list by a fellow at the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation of eleven ways the administration of President Donald Trump can shut down legal cannabis.

Is Denver Using PrideFest in PR Battle Against Denver 420 Rally?

By Michael Roberts

The City of Denver appears to be continuing its public-relations battle against the Denver 420 Rally, which is appealing a three-year permit ban, by contrasting the trashy condition of Civic Center Park the morning after the April 20 event with the much tidier look of the location following this past weekend’s PrideFest celebration. Meanwhile, an attorney for the rally charges Denver with using a double standard by pointing out that a dispensary was allowed to display its logo at PrideFest, as seen in a video below, even though such businesses have been forbidden to do so at the Denver 420 Rally.

Inside Attempt to Burn Down Ex-Home of Kelsie Schelling Disappearance Suspect

By Michael Roberts

A fire at the former home of Donthe Lucas, a suspect in the disappearance of Kelsie Schelling more than four years ago, is being investigated as potential arson, raising speculation about a potential link to her case that police are trying to dampen. In the meantime, a fire department spokesperson confirms that the current residents of the house were home at the time the blaze erupted and sprang into action to put it out before more permanent damage was done.

Critics Rip Cory Gardner for Tying Office Protests to Steve Scalise Shooting

By Michael Roberts

Members of Colorado political groups affiliated with the Indivisible movement are blasting Senator Cory Gardner for linking protests at his office involving coffins and costumed Grim Reapers and the attack on Republican lawmakers at a practice session for the Congressional baseball game that critically wounded Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise last week.

ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser Calls First-Place Colorado Rockies a Fraud

By Michael Roberts

ESPN’s Tony Korhneiser has branded the Colorado Rockies as a “fraud” even though the team is presently holding down first place in the National League West, due in part to the way the team choked in the World Series ten years ago. It’s an indication that the national media doesn’t believe in the squad, which has a history of hot starts and lousy finishes, despite indications that things may be different this year.

Forrest Fenn Considers Stopping Treasure Hunt After Paris Wallace Tragedy

By Michael Roberts

Forrest Fenn, a New Mexico author who’s attracted thousands to his state with clues about a $2 million treasure he says he’s hidden in the mountains north of Santa Fe, admits that he’s thinking about stopping the search following the presumed death of Paris Wallace, a Grand Junction pastor. Wallace is the second Coloradan to go missing while searching for the treasure over the past eighteen months.

Forrest Fenn on Report of Body Found in Search for Treasure Hunter Paris Wallace

By Michael Roberts

Forrest Fenn, a New Mexico author who’s lured thousands to his state with clues about a $2 million treasure he says he’s hidden in the mountains north of Santa Fe, is sharing his thoughts about the disappearance of Paris Wallace, a pastor from Grand Junction who vanished while looking for the cache, and reports that a thus-far-unidentified body was found a few miles from where Wallace’s abandoned car was located.

WTF? Adam and Eve’s Skeletons Found South of Denver?

By Michael Roberts

Twenty-five years ago this month, a major national newspaper announced that Adam and Eve’s skeletons had been found in Colorado, with an expert speculating that the Bible’s Garden of Eden had been discovered south of Denver. And so what if that publication was the Weekly World News, which was fake news before fake news was cool?

She Told Cops About Christian Gulzow’s Death Threat, but It Didn’t Prevent Murder

By Michael Roberts

Christian Gulzow, the Denver-area death metal scenester accused of murdering Brian Lucero in the parking lot of Torchy’s Tacos on May 23 while wearing white facial makeup and gloves with blades protruding from the fingers, was reported to police last year for threatening to kill another local musician, Akira Jadexx. However, no action appears to have been taken against Gulzow as a result of this contact, and he continued to harass Jadexx intermittently until mere months before his arrest for Lucero’s slaying.

Body Found May Be Paris Wallace, Latest Coloradan Seeking Forrest Fenn Treasure

By Michael Roberts

Paris Wallace, a pastor from Grand Junction, is the second Coloradan in eighteen months to vanish while searching for a $2 million treasure allegedly hidden by Forrest Fenn, a former Santa Fe art gallery owner and author. And late yesterday, June 18, New Mexico State Police revealed that a thus-far-unidentified body was found between five and seven miles from where Wallace’s car was discovered.

Jared Polis on Congressional Baseball Game After Shooting, Hitting Winning RBI

By Michael Roberts

Representative and 2018 Colorado gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis was a star at last night’s Congressional baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., delivering four RBIs, including the winning run, in leading the Democrats over the Republicans by a score of 11-2. But while he was pleased with his performance, he keeps the focus on Representative Steve Scalise and three others who were wounded in a shooting at a practice session on June 14, the day before the game.

CU to Pay Mike MacIntyre Millions Over $100K Joe Tumpkin Assault Donation

By Michael Roberts

Days after revealing that CU Buffs head football coach Mike MacIntyre would make a $100,000 donation to a domestic-violence fund to acknowledge mistakes made related to assault accusations against former assistant coach Joe Tumpkin, the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents has approved a five-year contract extension that will give him a raise of nearly $1 million per annum, plus an additional $100,000 on the last day of 2021, when the pact expires. The timing of these announcements suggests that mea culpas delivered earlier this week were intended to serve as cover for the head coach in the matter involving Tumpkin, who remained on the CU payroll for nearly a month after MacIntyre first spoke to the victim of what she describes as more than 100 assaults.

Kiaya Campbell Murder: 14 Other Times Colorado Has Tried Juvie Killers as Adults

By Michael Roberts

Adams County District Attorney Dave Young has announced his intention to charge the fifteen-year-old suspected of murdering Thornton’s Kiaya Campbell, age ten, earlier this month as an adult. By doing so, he’s following in the footsteps of many previous Colorado prosecutors who’ve taken alleged juvenile killers to adult court. Below, see fourteen examples of what happened when they did.

Colorado Town Overrun by Homeless Potheads? Not Exactly, Fox News

By Michael Roberts

Fox News, which has a history of portraying Colorado pot smokers as apathetic morons, recently ran a piece suggesting that the Western Slope community of Durango has been overtaken by panhandlers in the wake of recreational cannabis legalization. The head of a business organization that created a Facebook video ripping the article as false says the Fox News reporter with whom he spoke seemed disinterested in any information that contradicted his conclusion that weed had put the town on the fast road to hell even though the supposed link between homelessness and cannabis has been widely discredited.

NORML Promises Fight After Latest Trump Minion Hints of Marijuana Crackdown

By Michael Roberts

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is sending a clear signal to the administration of President Donald Trump following the latest negative words and deeds aimed at legal marijuana in Colorado and beyond by Justice Department officials Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein. In the words of NORML policy director Justin Strekal, “Should the Department of Justice decide to throw out the Tenth Amendment and respect for states’ rights as they govern their own interstate commerce, they’re going to have a fight on their hands.”

KS 107.5 Faves Larry and Kathie J’s New Station Backed by Pot Dispensary Chain

By Michael Roberts

The Larry and Kathie J morning show, which was recently canceled by KS 107.5 after a contract dispute despite being one of Denver’s most popular radio programs over the past decade-plus, is coming back to the Mile High City, and the world, next month as part of a new Internet radio station funded by The Green Solution, one of Colorado’s largest marijuana-dispensary chains. Co-host Larry Ulibarri, who admits to being frustrated by the duo’s exit from KS 107.5, provides a preview of the new concept, which he sees as unusual in all the right ways.

Scott Pack Indicted in Colorado Pot Biz’s Largest Fraud Case Ever, Attorney Says

By Michael Roberts

Scott Pack has been indicted by an Arapahoe County grand jury for what attorney Matthew Buck has called “the largest fraud case in the history of Colorado’s marijuana industry.” Buck, who filed a lawsuit in the matter earlier this year, says the grand jury’s findings tie Pack to what prosecutors describe as a massive operation that grew marijuana for distribution outside Colorado and previously led to the indictment of sixteen people, including Pack associate Rudy Saenz. Among those reportedly indicted along with Pack is Renee Rayton, a former officer for the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division.

Why Rusty Barnhart Wasn’t Convicted for Rape Linked to His DNA

By Michael Roberts

Rusty Barnhart has been convicted of second-degree kidnapping in a 1984 attack that had gone unsolved for decades. But neither Barnhart nor alleged co-conspirator Inocencio “Junior” Trevino, who’s currently awaiting trial, were charged with sexual assault in the case despite plentiful DNA evidence and Trevino’s alleged claim that the victim “wanted it.”