Dan Tang pleads guilty in exchange for reduced sentence

This morning, prominent Thornton restaurant owner Dan Tang pled guilty to one count of money laundering for his role in what investigators labeled the “Dan Tang Drug Trafficking Organization.” When authorities took down the drug ring in February 2008, they came away with 24,000 marijuana plants growing in 25 suburban…

The Balloon Boy meme: deconstructed

This video by the folks over at Rocketboom Institute for Internet Studies is a great hour-by-hour delineation on how the Falcon Heene/Balloon Boy saga went from a local news oddity to international media frenzy, and then to the kind of fast-spreading cultural virus known as a “meme.” Oh yeah, it’s…

Not all grocery workers sold on “ratification bonus” gift cards

Still no official response from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 about this week’s “last, best and final” contract proposals from King Soopers and Safeway. But several employees posting on the Facebook page linked to the union’s AlwaysHereForColorado.com site don’t seem to have been won over by the most…

Local blogger finalist to cover Winter Olympics for Microsoft

What writer wouldn’t want to cover the Olympics? The glitz, the glamor and the high-profile nature of the gig are just about irresistible, regardless of your feelings about winter sports. I mean, I’d jump at the opportunity, and I couldn’t care less about skiing, skating and curling. Well, curling’s kind…

Denver Blogs: It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas

Here are some local sites you might enjoy visiting. A thread on DenverRadio.net’s Comments & Rumors board begins with questions about why no local stations have started playing wall-to-wall Christmas music yet — and ends with news that KOSI has begun the yuletide frenzy. Somewhere Der Bingle is counting his…

Shmuck of the Week: Mark Kiszla, sports columnist extraordinaire

You don’t expect much from your daily-newspaper sports columnists these days. Sentences that make sense, some well-placed punctuation, maybe a bad pun or two. But while our expectations have been lowered over the years by the likes of Woody Paige and Skip Bayless and whoever else shows up in the…

Is CU’s cupboard less bare than we thought?

If moral victories mattered at this point (which they don’t), CU’s 31-28 loss to Oklahoma State last night would definitely qualify. Yes, I know: OSU was without starting quarterback (and Chatfield High School alum) Zac Robinson, and the squad’s been mildly overrated all season long, making its ranking as the…

Kenny Be’s Friday Afternoon Club: Tea and sympathy

Blue Sky Collective artists Lori Clayton and Kathy Nutt join Jessica Noonan at Hootenanny Candies and Tea… “Lori, Kathy, the bad news is that the artist collective must vacate the premises by December 1. The good news is that it still gives you two plenty of time to unload your…

Our updated medical-marijuana directory

Today marks the debut of another new medical-marijuana critic, William Breathes. In the meantime, we’re continuing to regularly update our directory of dispensaries, which is growing longer and larger all the time. To peruse the latest list, click here…

Mile Highs and Lows: Walking Raven Dispensary

As Colorado’s medical-marijuana industry grows, marijuana dispensaries of all types and sizes are proliferating around the state. Some resemble swanky bars or sterile dentist offices; others feel like a dope dealer’s college dorm room. To help keep them all straight, Westword will be offering a no-holds-barred look at what goes…

Is this anti-Obama billboard racist? You be the judge

So… whaddya think? Is this billboard, on display outside Wolf Interstate Leasing & Sales, 4855 Miller Street in Wheat Ridge, a bold (and legitimate) statement of displeasure with the Obama administration that has the guts to link the shootings in Fort Hood, Texas, with Islamoterrorism? Or is it an offensive…

Nicole Fox: Q&A with the Top Model winner

On Wednesday night, Louisville’s own Nicole Fox was named the winner of America’s Next Top Model. (Relive the season by visiting our recap archive.) That meant a day spent yesterday meeting the press — and while she was open about sharing her social ineptitude on camera, she’s anything but awkward…

Stephanie Villafuerte’s latest strategy: simulated openness

The nomination as U.S.Attorney of Stephanie Villafuerte hasn’t gone nearly as smoothly as the Obama administration would like, due largely to accusations that she was involved in the political accessing of a federal database during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign — the very act for which former ICE agent Cory Voorhis…

Jobbed: Here comes Santa Claus

The Job, as posted online: Santa Claus Qualifications: You must look the part and have a jovial personality to thrill the kids. Responsibilities: Being Santa Fri, Sat & Sun evenings from 12/4 through 12/20 and the 21st, 22nd & 23rd in downtown Denver. Costume furnished. Pay: N/A, but a contract…

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Interrupting chicken…

Say, you know what makes a boring city council meeting less boring? Furries. Just ask the Durango City Council, which was visited by a human-sized hen Tuesday night during a debate about a chicken ordinance. Watch the faux feathers fly above. All in favor of live personifications of agenda items…

Brit’s Pick for the Starz Denver Film Festival, November 19: A Room and a Half, or a Sentimental Journey to the Homeland

Editor’s note: This year’s Starz Denver Film Festival, November 12-22, features more than 200 films. To help navigate this cinematic abundance of riches, we asked fest artistic director Brit Withey to highlight some worthy selections off the beaten screening-room path. Look for Brit’s Picks each weekday through the extravaganza’s close…