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Colorado Cannabis Caucus: First State Legislature Group of Its Kind to Launch

By Michael Roberts

At 11 a.m. today, March 16, at the State Capitol, assorted legislators will be gathering for the introductory meeting of the Colorado Cannabis Caucus, a new group envisioned as a version of the federal Congressional Cannabis Caucus, except for state representatives. According to an executive of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which played a role in organizing the gathering, the caucus will likely be the first of its kind in any state, but it won’t be the last.

Denver Post Hedge Fund Owner Cutting Jobs to Keep 20 Percent Profit Margin?

By Michael Roberts

Yesterday, following a layoff announcement affecting thirty newsroom employees at the Denver Post, the Denver Newspaper Guild, a union that represents 25 of those marked for pink slips, sent a message to Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that owns the paper: “Sell The Denver Post Now!” According to DNG administrative officer Tony Mulligan, this salvo was written in part because of the theory that the cuts were made simply to maintain a 20 percent profit margin sans consideration of what the damage might do to the paper’s long-term prospects.

Bringing Cinderella City Back to Virtual Life for Its 50th Anniversary

By Michael Roberts

A half-century ago this month, in March 1968, Cinderella City opened in Englewood, and it was much more than a mere mall. An ad from the early days maintained that “Once Upon a Time…Is Now at Cinderella City,” where “Your Shopping Dreams Come True,” and for a generation of Denverites, as well as folks who traveled from all over the region to behold its marvels in person, these pitch lines were on the money. Those glory days ended with the edifice’s late 1990s demolition — but they’re set to make a virtual return. Denver designer Josh Goldstein is currently working on what he calls a “fully-detailed digital recreation of Cinderella City Mall for a Virtual Reality experience” he hopes to complete by the end of the attraction’s fiftieth anniversary year.

Right to Rest Bill Dies, Delivering a Devastating Defeat for the Homeless

By Chris Walker

After eight hours of emotional testimony and deliberation on Wednesday, March 15, a state House committee struck down a bill that would have protected anyone’s right to rest, sleep or eat in public with some exceptions. It was a devastating defeat for the “Right to Rest” bill’s advocates, whose similar legislative efforts last year were defeated in a scene almost identical to yesterday’s.

iHeartMedia, Owner of KOA, The Fox and More, Files for Bankruptcy

By Michael Roberts

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of iHeartMedia represents a startling descent in fortunes for a corporation that owns more than 800 radio stations across the country, including ten of the most powerful signals in the Denver market. The firm once known as Clear Channel insists that it will be business as usual during the bankruptcy process, but its circumstances are already drastically reduced from the period around the turn of the century, when it was considered an unassailable broadcasting colossus.

Senator and Citizens Had a Shouting Match Over Oil and Gas Censorship

By Nora Olabi

A shouting match broke out between a senator and Commerce City resident during an oil and gas-related hearing. She wanted to talk about explosions. He wanted to shut her up. Ultimately, her microphone was cut off and she was forcibly silenced. Now, a bill that would have put public health and safety over industry profits is dead.

Denver Post‘s Hedge Fund Owner Needs to Sell Paper Now, Union Says

By Michael Roberts

Early on March 15, after yesterday’s announcement that Denver Post will lay off thirty employees, the Denver Newspaper Guild, the union that represents most staffers, published a message to Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that owns the paper: “Sell The Denver Post Now!” In addition, the DNG estimates that the number of journalists at the broadsheet will actually number fewer than fifty once the layoffs are complete.

Why Colorado Missed Out on Robert Redford’s Latest Movie

By Michael Roberts

Our Souls at Night, a 2017 Netflix film starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, was shot in Colorado, with communities such as Florence, Colorado Springs and Denver benefiting from the dollars spent by the production, which was lured here in part by a $1.5 million in incentives made available through the Colorado Film Commission. But right now, the commission’s funding looks likely to be limited to $750,000, the same amount to which its $3 million budget was slashed last year. That’s too low an amount to attract major Hollywood films, and as evidence, Donald Zuckerman, the state’s film commissioner, reveals that Redford wanted to make his next movie here but decided against it when he learned no economic incentives were available.

Inside the Mind of Christopher Parker, Tied to Murder in NoCo Shooting Spree

By Michael Roberts

At 10 a.m. today, March 15, the Northern Colorado Shooting Task Force, originally created to investigate a string of 2015 shootings that included two murders, will hold its first media briefing in recent memory. Law enforcers are expected to provide details about the arrest of Christopher Parker, a 35-year-old who made a court appearance yesterday in connection with one of aforementioned killings: the apparently random gun-down of William “Bill” Connole, Jr., 65, on a Loveland street in June of that year.

Denver Post Lays Off Thirty Employees, Nearly One-Third of Newsroom Staff

By Michael Roberts

At a meeting this afternoon, on March 14, Denver Post editor Lee Ann Colacioppo announced layoffs for thirty employees, constituting nearly one-third of the newsroom staff. It’s the largest example of downsizing at the Post in recent memory and leaves the broadsheet with fewer than 25 percent of newsroomers employed during its peak. Less than a decade ago, around 300 journalists were on the job.

Stephen Hawking and Celebrity Deaths: Trolls, Tears and Social Media

By Michael Roberts

For folks in the United States and much of the Western world, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who passed away early today, March 14, in Cambridge, is the most famous person to die thus far in 2018, and the social media reactions vary from heartfelt tributes to bizarre takes along the lines of a Facebook item that reads, “Stop trolling. Stephen Hawking is not dead. Chairs can’t die.” Such reactions are to be expected according to a recent report by University of Colorado Boulder researchers.

Michael Hancock Text Scandal Won’t Be Investigated by Denver City Council

By Michael Roberts

Denver City Councilman Rafael Espinoza’s call for an investigation over improper texts Denver Mayor Michael Hancock sent to Denver police detective Leslie Branch-Wise when she was a member of his security detail circa 2011-2012 is not being echoed by other members of the panel. The Denver City Council has now issued a joint statement that essentially shrugs off the need for such an inquiry while calling for greater transparency related to any assertions of sexual harassment by officials. Yet the information that led to this decision was dispensed at a closed-door meeting, during executive session.

Denver Student Walkouts Warning: “Multiple Threats of Additional Violence”

By Michael Roberts

Last night, on the eve of planned gun-control-related student walkouts at schools throughout the Denver area and the nation, Adams 12 Five Star Schools superintendent Chris Gdowski sent a letter to parents warning about “a high volume (over 40 at this time) of anonymous Safe2Tell reports…raising safety concerns at each of our five comprehensive high schools (Horizon, Legacy, Mountain Range, Northglenn and Thornton) for tomorrow, March 14, 2018.” Gdowski added that “we have been in contact with neighboring school districts in the Denver-metro area and this is consistent with what they are experiencing.”

Why Colorado Tokers Love Hercules

By Herbert Fuego

Hercules is becoming increasingly popular around Denver, but as with Gorilla Glue, its qualities can vary from grow to grow, and it’s known to have a number of phenotypes.