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Not long ago, Christie Donner was seen as a fringe figure in state politics, advocating unpopular changes in the stern laws that form the centerpiece of Colorado’s part in the nation’s War on Drugs. Donner, director of the Colorado Prison Moratorium Coalition, argues that Colorado’s prison-building boom has been an…

Holiday-season installments in the ever-popular series of late-night television advertisements for Rocky’s Autos have featured the Shagman character, costumed as a pilgrim and chasing a turkey through rows of used cars with a blunderbuss musket in hand. Given the pending federal firearms charges against Rocky’s Autos co-owner John Rothrock, arming…

For seven years, the hemp ice cream produced in Das Agua’s shop, Original Sources, made him a successful businessman. Today it makes him a criminal. Created with “milk” made from the ground seeds of industrial hemp — marijuana’s low-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) sister plant — Agua’s Hemp I Scream may now be…

The Thanksgiving weekend will be a little quieter at Denver International Airport this year, and not just because United Airlines has retired its entire fleet of rumbling 727s. For the first time in many years, there will be no musicians roaming the concourses, placating tense travelers and making merry. “From…

There’s no denying that the building at 2000 East Buchtel is spectacular. Located next to the equally striking Ritchie Center on the University of Denver campus, it’s massive (a whopping 74,000 square feet), with a curved glass facade that allows light to spill into a circular area accurately dubbed “the…

A Hung Jury Read it and weep: I remember when libraries were repositories of great literature. Judging from Patricia Calhoun’s recent columns, they are now institutions devoted to the hanging of penises (“How’s It Hanging?” November 15) and the consumption of cheesy philosophy (“Cheese Wiz,” November 8). Doesn’t anybody read…

Nick Delgado has a tube of the testicle cream in his pocket. He is the author of eight books, including How to Look Great & Feel Sexy, and he’s scouting the room packed with muscular hardbodies at the Olympia competition and product exposition. When Delgado spots magazine publisher Jeff Everson,…

Jeff Peters was getting ready to drive his daughter, Heather, to class at the University of Colorado on September 11 when he turned on the television and saw the World Trade Center’s north tower in flames. “I said, ‘Heather, we’re being attacked,'” he remembers, “and she said, ‘How do you…

When Andrew Herm sealed the envelope on his early-decision application to Brown University just over a month ago, he included the usual materials — test scores, letters of recommendation from teachers, forms detailing his accomplishments as a senior in the top of his class at Littleton High School. But amid…

The developers had money, business leaders and most of the town’s elected officials on their side. But last week, the citizens of Berthoud decided to stick with their beleaguered growth cap, rejecting a proposed exemption that would have allowed for massive development of a 4,200-acre parcel of land along the…

The Denver Botanic Gardens announced this week that it will reorganize its operations, laying off seven employees for budgetary reasons and accepting the resignation of its associate director for operations, Joe Duran, whose position will not be filled. Although the elimination of the positions had nothing to do with employee…

It’s no wonder Harold Hasselback, a longtime defensive end for the Denver Broncos, didn’t make the team this year — he was too busy cooking to practice. Specifically, he was perfecting his “Come and Getty Your Shrimp, Shrimp Spaghetti.” And Hasselback isn’t the only ex-Bronco (along with ex-Broncos’ current wives)…

Gene Amole should have known that old pals would be coming out of the woodwork about now. After all, the veteran Rocky Mountain News columnist made the announcement that he’s dying in a rather public way — on the front page of the October 26 News, which reaches over 600,000…

The Cheese Stands Alone Turds and whey: Thank you for Patricia Calhoun’s November 8 “Cheese Wiz,” on the Denver Public Library. Back in February, my manager at work had me read Who Moved My Cheese? I was similarly underwhelmed and horrified by the sappy pop psychology presented in the book…

The digital clock in the dashboard of the black Nissan Maxima read five minutes after five in the morning as Frank Lontine took a swig from the bottle of Bacardi Limón he’d been working on since midnight. It was Friday, August 11. Lontine pushed six bullets into the cylinder of…

The Denver Botanic Gardens has emerged from a two-month investigation into accusations of “unethical administrative practices” with a promise to “take some action.” But at least one DBG boardmember believes that the organization hasn’t gone far enough to fix the problems. In May, a group of former and current employees…

Confused? So are we. Parents, teachers, kids — everyone involved in public education in Colorado, it seems, eagerly awaited this fall’s release of the School Accountability Reports (SAR). Pushed by Governor Bill “No Excuses” Owens, the reports represent the first statewide effort to evaluate schools objectively, using student scores on…

Hundreds of grass-guzzlers lined up at the one-and-only Mile High Stadium late last month to buy rolls of souvenir sod lifted off the soon-to-be-paved-over playing field. The turf, which sold at $10 for a six-foot section, was so popular that the city — with a big assist from Denver City…

Bob Newman is talking on the phone when his call-waiting tone clicks. He apologizes for the interruption, a hint of irritation in his voice, before checking to see who else is on the line. Upon his return, he explains, “It was Tom Tancredo,” referring to the Republican Congressman from Colorado’s…