For the third time in as many years, the Regional Transportation District will have to replace its major private contractor, as Oak Brook, Illinois-based ATC/Vancom has begged out of a five-year, $80.1 million deal. The company, which is a division of British conglomerate National Express Corporation, didn’t give a reason…
The Tattered Cover LoDo takes most of its rushes during the lunch hour, the early evening and the weekends, owing to its perch on the edge of Denver’s financial and entertainment districts. Weekday evenings are usually sedate, peopled with bibliophiles and loft-dwellers looking for an escape. But that slow routine…
What a difference a year makes. Last summer, as Mayor Wellington Webb pondered joining the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate in 2002, he seemed to take issue with a Denver appearance by the Republican who currently holds the job, Wayne Allard. Webb apparently didn’t appreciate the Loveland veterinarian invading…
Admittedly, Gordon Hamilton isn’t the most objective person when it comes to the debate about the would-be hazards of radio- frequency emissions, known as RF. Hamilton, a home-remodeling pro with a sideline in auto restoration, has lived on Jefferson County’s Lookout Mountain, the location of the metro area’s largest and…
They grin like famished wolves. Their eyes grow big. Obviously, they love the one-on-one drill. Who wouldn’t? Who could resist a thing so nakedly elemental? Stealthily, a lone shooter glides in on the crouching goaltender. The shooter swerves, he feints, he flicks his wrist and flashes the puck into a…
Qwest for Ire A family affair: I enjoyed reading Patricia Calhoun’s column on Qwest’s ever-so-helpful insert about how they protect our privacy by offering to give our privacy away (“Out of the Blue,” January 24). She did a lot of research about how heavy they are into marketing. Thanks for…
Inside Denver’s Office of the Medical Examiner, two coroner’s assistants unsealed a body bag containing the empty mortal shell of Eric Daniel Scott. A silver ball necklace lay around the body’s neck. They removed it, along with the matching nipple rings. Circling the steel autopsy table, Doctor Amy Martin began…
A $300 million investment by Xcel Energy in a subsidiary that buys and sells power plants all over the world has led to Xcel’s being placed on a negative credit watch by a national credit agency. The subsidiary, NRG Energy Inc., was spun off from one of Xcel’s predecessor companies…
Jerome Biffle wants to be remembered. For the thousands and thousands of students he counseled at East High School between 1962 and 1992, that won’t be a problem. “Oh, Lord, there’s been quite a few,” Biffle says. “I can’t count them.” When they run into him around town, they’ll say,…
Eat, drink and be wary: Don’t be surprised to read about a lot of activity in the State Capitol on January 24. It’s probably the coffee. Because after consuming their usual cups-a-joe at home that day, all 35 senators and 65 representatives will find coffee from Café Cartago on their…
For the most part, the digital TV revolution is not being televised in Denver — and with a series of disputes over broadcasting towers in varying states of gridlock, this situation is unlikely to change anytime soon. Nevertheless, the clock continues to tick. Several years ago, the Federal Communications Commission…
Sunday afternoon, the phone rings. Troy Slinkard picks up the cordless. It’s David, calling from Lakewood. “I was wondering,” he says, already knowing the answer, “if me and Charles could come up for a while.” Troy, of course, says sure. “About a half-hour?” David asks. “Sure,” says Troy. A half-hour…
Denver Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test Scratched and sniff: Just scanned over “Funky Town,” your January 10 article about the Big Stink in parts of Denver. I’m alarmed, as I’d concluded last night — through much research on the Net — that I might move to Denver. How prevalent is…
In the 1930s, skiing in Colorado was exotic. There were no real ski areas, but that didn’t stop a group of wealthy Denverites from driving up dirt roads to the top of Berthoud Pass and strapping on skis. A simple stone cairn was the only guide skiers had to the…
From the start, Winter Park has been sustained by an unusual combination of private interest and public subsidy. This hybrid, known as the Winter Park Recreational Association — a 22-member nonprofit board that runs Winter Park on behalf of the city — has at times been regarded with suspicion. When…
National Western Stock Show CEO Pat Grant may have forgotten to brief some speakers before they addressed the town’s moovers and shakers at last Friday’s Boots ‘n Business Luncheon. Denver has the “best” Stock Show facilities, said one of the honored rodeo stars of “yesteryear.” Echoed National Western announcer and…
Ask any journalist how he or she balances the quest for scoops with the desire for accuracy and you’ll probably get this answer: “It’s more important to be right than first.” But the game isn’t always played that way in the modern world of electronic media. When disaster strikes, news…
Let’s see: In the last two weeks, Steve Spurrier unexpectedly quit after twelve years as head football coach at the University of Florida because he wants to try the NFL. On the other hand, coach Chan Gailey left the pros for college, and Tyrone Willingham quit Stanford for Notre Dame,…
Orange Crushed He’s got the business-suit blues: I read Alan Prendergast’s “Pat’s Big Fumble,” in the January 3 issue. He hit the nail on the head. Consider this sentence: “There is no place for fans to hang their hand-lettered signs and no escape from the flashing ads, the corporate logos,…
It’s described as a monster. It comes through the walls, some northeast metro Denver residents say. It wakes you up at night. It attacks without warning, then quietly disappears. Hey, stick your head outside and see if it’s gone. It doesn’t really have a name, but the Big Stink –…
Tourism is suffering in Colorado, and as governor, Bill Owens is certainly in a position to help. In late September, the Colorado Tourism Office — the relatively new agency in charge of promoting the state as a travel destination and run by a board of governor-appointed representatives of the tourism…
Joining the list of bigwigs who’ve publicly berated Denver International Airport is George Mitrovich, who chided the airport in a letter to the Denver Post last month. “I have often cited DIA as a state-of-the-art airport, a model for the rest of the world,” he began. “But after barely making…
