Colorado’s flourishing medical marijuana industry, with nearly a hundred pot dispensaries statewide servicing thousands and thousands of marijuana patients, got its start in 2000, when state voters legalized medical marijuana by passing Amendment 20. But who was the ganja genius who came up with the amendment? Most people in the…
The latest sport among the right-wing loonocracy involves targeting minor members of the Obama administration and hammering away at them relentlessly until they’re given the boot. Among the latest folks to get such treatment: National Endowment for the Arts communication director Yosi Sergant, who was reassigned after Fox News’ Glenn…
Among the more controversial ways Colorado is saving money during the current budget catastrophe involves the early release of prisoners — something state Attorney General John Suthers hates, as he made clear during a recent appearance on KHOW. Today, the first eight cons are slated to go free — a…
Don’t accuse Scott McInnis spokesman Sean Duffy of letting his guy get battered without mounting a rapid defense. Shortly after the publication of a blog about an informal, unscientific survey showing Josh Penry ahead of McInnis in the Republican race for governor, Duffy rang up to dismiss the poll as…
Is there a more high-maintenance public figure in Colorado than Douglas Bruce? Doubt it. Yesterday, Bruce went to court over a trespassing charge leveled against him in August, when he was collecting signatures for a ballot measure outside a Costco store. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the judge tossed…
All the hosannas about the Broncos’ improved defense are mondo premature due to the fact that the D gave up what should have been the winning score during crunch time at Cincinnati during week one and dominated an utterly inept Cleveland Browns squad on Sunday. And the next opponent? The…
Governor Bill Ritter may be trying to establish his fiscal conservatism amid the necessity to make even deeper budget cuts — a strategy that closely echoes the one being used right now by Josh Penry, who seems to be emerging as Ritter’s likely Republican opponent in the 2010 election. The…
At yesterday’s press conference discussing the need to make up for an additional $240 million shortfall in 2009-2010 state revenue, Governor Bill Ritter immediately emphasized fiscal caution. “As is our practice,” he said, “we will be balancing our budget with the more conservative of the forecasts.” That’s a shot across…
“John Hickenlooper’s Budget-Cut Pitch,” a blog published last Wednesday, pointed out that Denver’s mayor had cannily put the onus on unions representing police officers when it came to trimming costs. The key line in a letter to Denver residents read: “There will be no wage increase for police, fire and…
Days before terror-suspect Najibullah Zazi was arrested, he hired lawyer Arthur Folsom and actually engaged with members of the press rather than shunning them — an unusual tack in this type of investigation. Now, however, there are increasing indications that the attempts at media spin may have backfired on him,…
The case of DIA shuttle driver Najibullah Zazi, who joined his father in U.S. District Court yesterday to be advised of charges against them, has turned into the biggest news story in Denver — and given the scope of the investigation, it’s no surprise that the national media, which hasn’t…
The Aurora Police Department is seeking the driver of a white Toyota Camry as part of the investigation into a fatal stabbing on the 1200 block of North Chambers Road near Hinkley High School early Sunday morning — but the person behind the wheel isn’t considered a suspect. Rather, he…
Working off the weekend. Today in Backbeat Online: • Over the Weekend: Spoke Shaver, Big Timber and Dualistics at the Larimer Lounge. • Hearts of Palm to reunite for a pair of proper farewell shows. • Pretty Lights new album to be available for free download. • Dialed In: This…
Our daily swing through the local blogosphere. Is that a fat lady I hear singing? And is that fat lady wearing a Rockies jersey? (Purple Row) The Family Research Council wants to oust Betsy Markey, which means the Family Research Council is much more evil than its name infers. (Colorado…
Forget those so-called social-media games like Farmville and Mafia Wars, which are really just a way to junk up your friends’ feeds and irritate them. Someone’s figured out a way to make social media into something like a nightlife MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game). Think Twitter meets World of Warcraft,…
Buxom wenches and drunken beer songs do share a long, healthy history, especially this time of year, when Oktoberfest celebrations circle the globe. But here in Denver, the beer-savoring level is off the charts, baby — exploding like fireworks all over town as the multitudinous events of the new Denver…
So, it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and I was unloading two coolers and some chairs for my son’s birthday party at Crestmoor Park. Yes, I saw the “No Parking Anytime” sign, but I hit the hazard button, opened my trunk and pulled out the cooler. But I never had…
Interesting essay on HuffPo Denver about the arrest of Aurora-based Najibullah Zazi and his father from the pen of Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University. Levin acknowledges that the statute making it a felony to lie to an investigator…
The study of neighbors through their lawn ornaments… Figure 34. Belcaro: Middle-aged lesbian children read book while Shelley Winters does a snail lift The Belcaro neighborhood takes its name from the Italian word that means beautiful and dear, and residents want to keep it that way. The entire neighborhood is…
Andrew Romanoff’s got more than an uphill battle when it comes to winning the 2010 Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. His angle of ascent’s as vertical as it can be, what with the White House throwing its support behind Bill Ritter nominee Michael Bennet. With that in mind, he’s…
Right now, Democrat Jared Polis is the Colorado congressional leader when it comes to using new media, sometimes to excess; note that last week, Polis’ staff uploaded more than twenty healthcare stories about his constituents to YouTube. But Republican Mike Coffman seems ready to give JP a run for his…
