You feel like cussing? Want to toss off a few F-bombs, take the Lord’s name? Don’t do it on the HCF Flames Track and Field Club’s time. “Members (which includes both parents and athletes) are expected to act in an orderly and respectful manner, maintaining Christian standards of courtesy, kindness,…
Lunar Lauding The man in the moon is a lady: I enjoyed Harrison Fletcher’s “Moon Child,” in the April 25 issue. He communicates well the complex truths about the various theories of the moon’s origin to the layperson. I also appreciate the way he conveyed the intense personality of Robin…
It came from outer space. Four and a half billion years ago, when the solar system was a young, violent and messy place, a hot and nasty planet hailing from somewhere between Mars and Venus took a detour. Traveling at 11 kilometers per second, it screamed toward one of its…
Marcie Miller got the idea to open a coffeehouse in Golden from a friend who’d moved there from San Francisco and complained that “you can’t even get a latte in this town.” But when she started Higher Grounds Cafe in the historic downtown in 1993, she took a gamble. Businesses…
When freshman students enter West High School this fall, they won’t feel lost in the big building. They’ll take all of their classes on one floor, and instead of 35 students per class, there will be just 25. In this way, the students will get to know their teachers, the…
The obituaries for Byron “Whizzer” White since his death on April 15 at the age of 84 have been as widely varied as the Colorado native’s long career. On ESPN’s SportsCenter, for instance, White was remembered for his gridiron accomplishments with the University of Colorado and the NFL — and,…
There was never any need for a formal research study. Instead, Kevin Larson hung around the store — near the dressing room, where he could tell a woman to try the camisole in white, rather than off-white, in order to bring out her natural attributes. Or in his office beneath…
As March 8 approached, local forecasters in Denver had a feeling the day wouldn’t be right for sunbathing. The temperatures seemed likely to be on the brisk side, and there was even a chance of scattered snow showers. But neither the prognosticators at the National Weather Service nor the weather…
Judging the talent of a forecaster isn’t easy. According to the National Weather Service’s Eric Thaler, it would require about a year’s worth of data to scientifically rate a predictor’s accuracy. As such, tests of broadcast meteorologists are usually conducted by amateurs. Channel 9’s Mike Nelson says the viewers who…
1. Roses Are Red. But it wasn’t always so: In the initial runnings of the Kentucky Derby, which dates back to 1875, the winning horse wore a blanket of white carnations — now the symbol of victory at the Belmont Stakes. Early in the twentieth century, historians tell us, a…
Our Neighbor From Enron Lou Pai, go home: I would like to thank you for “The Mystery of Pai,” Alan Prendergast’s exquisite April 18 story regarding Lou Pai and 77,000 acres of the most beautiful land in Colorado. Everyone who read the story should be outraged with Mr. Pai’s behavior…
The caravan of cars and trucks moves slowly through the streets of San Luis and on to Chama, then heads into the hills. It comes to a stop a few minutes later, where a locked gate bars the road. NO TRESPASSING, the sign reads. And, in smaller print, as if…
Enron chief executive Jeff Skilling once described Lou Pai as “my ICBM.” But like a lot of other talented execs whose careers rocketed into hyperdrive at the Houston-based energy giant, Pai turned out to be a secret weapon aimed directly at shareholders. When the wild ride was over, Pai emerged…
When a public official takes on duties that appear to be at cross purposes, it’s said that the job requires him to wear “many hats.” If that’s the case, then Dave Thomas sports more headgear than a marching band. As three-term district attorney of Jefferson County, Thomas is the lead…
Armed with today’s digital technology, any special-effects wiz in Hollywood can squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle. But can the movies get a rich man into heaven? Philip Anschutz, Denver’s favorite billionaire, may be hoping they can. Last month, Anschutz signed an acquisition deal that will make…
If Tinseltown didn’t know Philip Anschutz before, it does now. In addition to his recent major investments in movie theaters and two production companies, Anschutz also owns the $94 million Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, where the Academy Awards were staged last month. On that night, the Denver billionaire’s spanking-new, 3,500-seat…
Denver Public Schools is on a quest to replace Qwest. Last year, the giant telecom announced it was giving up on its residential Internet-access business as part of a giant shift in strategy — which meant that half a million Qwest.net customers had until the first of this month to…
“Writing obituaries is usually a beginning reporter’s job,” notes obit specialist Jim Sheeler. “I think that’s usually why they’re done so poorly. But obituaries can be stories that teach you a little bit more about life through death. And I don’t really think it matters how old you are to…
A yellowing newspaper clipping from the Houston Chronicle hangs on the wall in Al Sanders’s home office in Fort Collins. The matted and framed article, dated January 27, 1964, is accompanied by a photograph of a five-year-old boy, identified as Austin Sanders III, sitting on his mother’s lap. He is…
The Bust of Denver Hair today, gone tomorrow: Way to go, Westword! Thanks for including Best Hair on a TV Personality in the Best of Denver 2002, but leaving out all references to Latin music, hip-hop acts, children’s theater, and comedy theater and acts! Why not just include “Cutest Couple”…
Lower downtown, where splashy multimillion-dollar lofts are common, isn’t an easy place to impress people architecturally. One LoDo couple spent a small fortune importing sandstone from India for the exterior of their home, while a bachelor who moved into a LoDo penthouse reportedly covered his bedroom walls with mink. Aware…
The football season may have ended in January, but the Denver Broncos began running a new play on March 5. That’s when team lawyer David A. Bailey signed and mailed form letters threatening legal action to 100 of the football team’s richest fans. The recipients had all missed the February…
