At midnight, looking over the city from the confluence of the rivers where Denver was born, all is calm, all is bright. But not quite as bright as it all once was. Understandably, the lights of the D&F Tower, the Adam’s Mark logo, even the classic neon “Travel by Train”…
You may not hear “Fly Me to the Moon,” but Sinatra’s about the only crooner who won’t be sounding off at Denver International Airport over the next few days. Long before 9/11 upped the ante on jittery nerves, DIA hired Meredith Gabow to coordinate the International Performance Series, a performing-arts…
The road stretches ahead, smooth and made for speed. Getting to this point, however, was anything but fast — or smooth. Just past the sign welcoming westbound traffic on I-70 to Clear Creek County, “Mountains of Things to Do,” a massive scar cutting across the slopes to the right marks…
SAT, 12/18 All aboard for the season’s first trip on the Ski Train, “a Denver tradition for generations,” as general manager Jim Bain points out. And since that first generation of Eskimos rode up to Winter Park — this city’s own ski resort — the train has grown some, too…
Growing up, I spent at least twenty Decembers covered with pine needles and sticky with sap, working my family’s Christmas-tree lot in Scottsdale, Arizona. Even today, the lot is a much loved, and missed, part of my childhood, one that’s inextricably linked to my concept of Christmas. I try not…
FRI, 12/3 For the past three months, Metropolitan State College’s Social Action Through Art class has been studying urban arts, including graffiti and hip-hop culture. “We even had some breakdance instructors come in,” remembers student Nicole Aragon. “It was quite the experience. It was a lot of fun, but I…
FRI, 11/26 This year, I’m going to put myself in the holiday spirit. No more procrastinating. I’m going to get out and enjoy all that the metro area has to offer. That always sounds good in theory, but this year I’m serious. I’m channeling Hannibal, and I have a plan…
The gift-giving season draws nigh, so sound the battle cry and dig in: Shop early and shop often! After all, frenzy can be fun, especially when you know where to shop. And this is one hot weekend to do it. For starters, the seventh annual Gifts for Yule, an eclectic…
At the first hint of good weather — the mysterious thaw that warms up early February, the late October sun that spins the autumn air into gold — Coloradans head to the parks or hit the streets. In Denver, every square of cement suddenly sprouts seating. No matter what the…
At this time of year, in this part of the country, heated arguments break out at the drop of a spoon. No, not over the election, but over green chile. On street corners around town, the last of the chiles — the genuine article from Hatch, New Mexico; the counterfeits…
TUES, 10/19 Lollapalooza died a quick and quiet death this summer, a victim of sluggish ticket sales and growing apathy toward the whole idea of large-scale rockfests. But ironically, there’s still a thriving market for weird Lollapalooza mutations, like Pepsi-palooza and Hallelujah-palooza, not to mention a personal favorite, Pancake-palooza. Well,…
FRI, 10/15 “I once danced on that table right over there,” said the executive vice president, pointing with a well-manicured finger at a metal table near the far wall of the Wazee Supper Club. “I once spent the night under that table,” her companion replied. No surprise. Over the years,…
“Dickie Pilager cares about Colorado…;” The political ads were all over CNN last Friday morning, as Pete Coors commercials alternated with the latest swift-boat torpedoes. So when the start of Richard Pilager’s stump speech for governor sounded at 7:24 a.m., it seemed to fit right in. But Pilager — who…
In Denver’s crowded, competitive real estate market, getting a call from a man who says he’s interested in purchasing eight prime units is nothing to sneeze at. Not even after it becomes clear that the man is calling from the Immigration and Naturalization Services detention center in Aurora — where…
“We come back to Denver in triumph,” says Maggie Renzi, the producer of Silver City, John Sayles’s new movie that premieres here on September 10. “We pulled off something pretty miraculous. We started to shoot a movie last September, and we’re coming back with it in September.” Not only that,…
Once again, Colorado’s dirty laundry is on public display. Just think: better high-altitude detergent and this state might stay out of the headlines. Because once again, Exhibit A is mystery DNA in panties — this pair belonging to Kobe Bryant’s accuser. Just last Thursday, the day before Bryant’s sexual-assault trial…
“Park Hill Loves Spinelli’s Market. Thank you Jerry and Mary Ellen…from your customers, neighbors and friends,” reads a sign on the wall near the front of Spinelli’s Market, 4621 East 23rd Avenue. Dozens of hand-written notes adorn the poster — messy scribbles thanking the Spinellis for their invaluable community grocery…
THURS, 8/26 It was August 26, 1964, general-admission tickets were $6.60 apiece, and parents feared the worst. They were utterly certain that when the Beatles took the stage at Red Rocks forty years ago today, the crowd, high on that mysterious evil force called rock and roll, would surely riot,…
On Tuesday evening, after the following column went to press, Jon Lipsky got a call from the FBI telling him he was not allowed to discuss the Rocky Flats case. Lipsky read a statement to that effect at Wednesday’s press conference and said nothing more. He was not wearing a…
WED, 8/25 Denver’s El Centro Su Teatro proudly traces its roots back to the 1960s theatrical-political actions of Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino, which supported César Chavez and the United Farm Workers grape boycotts, and later evolved into the prototypical Chicano theater group. Such solidarity is just part of…
If only Colorado’s current Kobe connection would disappear so effectively. Twelve miles south of Leadville on Highway 24, just before the valley narrows, the words “Kobe, Colo” appear written in stones on a hillside. Below, by the train tracks alongside the Arkansas River, a metal shed bears the word “Kobe.”…
Sitting in a restaurant in Cherry Creek, minding my own business — which means, of course, everyone else’s — I spotted a table of well-groomed, well-heeled white-hairs, the sort of people whose third homes might be in Aspen. They poured an amusing but not inexpensive red wine, then raised their…
