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The Torturous, Completely Preventable Slow-Motion Death of Dennis Choquette

By Michael Roberts

When he entered a for-profit Colorado prison in July 2014, Dennis Choquette had a serious but treatable foot malady related to diabetes. But according to a lawsuit filed by his estate, his jailers repeatedly refused to address this problem as a way of saving money, thereby allowing his condition to deteriorate slowly and agonizingly over the course of more than a year. He died in November 2016 on the very day that lawyers working on his behalf were scheduled to file a motion asking a judge to set aside his sentence and order that he be admitted to a hospital for an amputation.

Governor John Hickenlooper Responds to Sean Spicer’s Comments on Marijuana

By Kate McKee Simmons

After White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that we should expect “greater enforcement” of marijuana laws, particularly regarding recreational sales, Colorado politicians responded. Governor John Hickenlooper appeared on MSNBC on February 24 and then on Meet the Press February 26, when he was in Washington, D.C., for a governors’ conference…

How Has Senator Cory Gardner Handled Hurricane Trump?

By Westword Staff

Much like they did during the Obama administration, angry constituents are taking to town hall meetings to air their grievances with the current president. But instead of angry tea partiers heckling Democrats, this time it’s irate Democrats yelling at Republicans. No one’s feeling the heat more in Colorado than Republican…

Reader: People of Color Face Disrespect on a Daily Basis

By Westword Staff

Since Donald Trump’s election, and especially as talk of immigration enforcement ramps up, children of color have reported increased verbal abuse. Denver Public Schools responded by issuing what it dubbed “The Safe and Welcoming School District Resolution,” but it will take more than resolutions to turn the tide, since readers…

Marijuana in the Age of Trump: From States’ Rights to “Greater Enforcement”

By Kate McKee Simmons

This week the Trump administration dropped a bomb on the cannabis industry when press secretary Sean Spicer said the marijuana industry should expect “greater enforcement” from the federal government. This stance is in direct opposition to statements Trump had made on the campaign trail regarding marijuana, and other signs from the administration since his election. Here’s a roundup of what Trump has said on the issue, coverage of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ comments since his appointment, and follows on Spicer’s comments this week.

Tracking Colorado Consumers With Better Cannabis Data

By Tom Edathikunnel

As Colorado’s cannabis industry continues to grow and mature, dispensary owners and other ganjapreneurs are taking a more analytical approach to retail marijuana. According to industry experts, dispensaries cannot hope that the novelty of cannabis and tourism continues to support the market. Rather, they need to dive deeper into customer engagement.

Meagan Osgood’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Uber-Stealing Day

By Westword Staff

“A rather bizarre incident from over the weekend,” Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith wrote in a Facebook post about the arrest of Broomfield’s Meagan Osgood. And that’s as succinct a description as any about what went down. Osgood is accused of getting into a drunken fight, stealing an Uber driver’s car and being so obstinate to law enforcers that they eventually had to pepperball her.

Cory Gardner Town Hall in Denver to Go On Whether He Shows Up or Not

By Michael Roberts

Senator Cory Gardner is among Republican lawmakers who thus far in 2017 haven’t scheduled any town hall meetings of the sort called for by his critics, who portray him as a virtual rubber stamp for President Trump even though he announced that he wouldn’t vote for The Donald last October. But Indivisible Front Range Resistance is among the groups that is staging a Gardner town hall in Denver tonight anyway (get details below), and Katie Farnan, one of the main organizers, says the event will go on whether the senator shows up or not.

David Cassidy: Partridge Family Temple Reacts to News of Its God’s Dementia

By Michael Roberts

Actor David Cassidy, who’s best known for portraying heartthrob Keith Partridge on the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Family, has revealed that he is battling dementia. Most fans of Cassidy and the show have responded to this news with sadness about his condition and admiration for his bravery in sharing his struggles. But the most unusual reaction to date comes from Shaun Partridge, co-founder of the Partridge Family Temple, a highly unusual religious organization that worships Cassidy as the human incarnation of a god.

Activist: In Trump Age, Verbal Racism Aimed at Denver Kids of Color Is Rising

By Michael Roberts

Donald Trump certainly didn’t invent racism. But since Trump’s election this past November, verbally racist attacks hurled at Denver kids of color are on the rise, sources tell Westword. Even before this week’s release of executive orders calling for tougher immigration enforcement, local children of Latino or African descent riding on buses, gathering in public spaces or even playing against white opponents in school-sanctioned sporting events were hearing hateful comments about deportation and more whether they’re U.S. citizens or not. Such remarks, from young and old alike, may have been whispered in the past, but now, they’re increasingly being announced loud and proud, as if the speakers feel empowered by the assumption that the nation’s president feels the same way they do.

Why CU Denver, Winter Park Won’t Let Their Ads Appear on Breitbart News

By Michael Roberts

Breitbart News, the online spawning ground of Steve Bannon, a powerful adviser for President Donald Trump, is an alt-right outlet pilloried by critics for what they see as racism, sexism and the sort of vile invective spewed by Milo Yiannopoulos, who resigned from his gig as editor of Breitbart Tech yesterday after video surfaced of him defending sexual relationships between adult men and thirteen-year-old boys. It’s also the target of a Twitter campaign intended to convince advertisers not to support the site. But while the University of Colorado Denver and Winter Park ski area are among several Colorado enterprises to have removed Breitbart from their media plans, representatives of both say they’re not trying to make a political statement.

Anti-Topless Rule Stripped, All Nipples in Fort Collins Are Free

By Michael Roberts

Since 2015, an organization now called Free the Nipple Fort Collins has fought to remove the words “the breast or breasts of a female” from the community’s public-indecency ordinance. Now, a federal judge has issued an injunction against the city over the rule on Constitutional grounds, essentially killing it.