The Church of Scientology has been taking a series of body blows in recent years from journalists and former members, ranging from multi-city protests organized by the hacker collective Anonymous to Lawrence Wright’s New Yorker expose to the searing HBO documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, which features…
Break out the Cheetos and Goldfish. When Amendment 64 passed in November 2012, Governor John Hickenlooper reminded Coloradans that “federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don’t break out the Cheetos or [Goldfish] too quickly.” But now it may be time to pass the snack bowl. Because…
Chris Parente, host of Fox31’s Everyday and a popular emcee around town, has done some crazy interviews. But It would be hard to beat this one with hot-hot comic Amy Schumer and Bill Hader, stars of the new Trainwreck. Parente asked them to evaluate assorted male members of the Fox31…
Ben Higgins – Colorado resident and Kaitlyn Bristowe’s most recent castaway on the current season of The Bachelorette – is rumored to be the next Bachelor. The 26-year-old, a business analyst for local tech company Talisys, is a favorite among female viewers. ABC teased fans with a homosexual-hint bromance between Higgins and…
It was only a few minutes. But in the hushed courtroom, where nearly all eyes were on the judge Thursday afternoon, the wait for the verdicts seemed like it lasted many more. The jury had entered moments before with an armful of manila envelopes. Inside were 165 verdict forms, one…
By now you know the verdict. James Holmes was found guilty of murder in the deaths of twelve people who he opened fire on inside the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora on July 20, 2012. Many more were injured. The jury deliberated for two days before handing their decision over…
It’s great to be a pot nerd in Denver these days. Two years ago, I could merely window-shop the waiting room of MMJ stores, like Ralphie in A Christmas Story admiring a Red Ryder BB gun. Today I can buy marijuana all over town. Still, I’ll never take the opportunity…
Denver blogs are all-inclusive. While comic Jordan Wieleba has been performing standup since 2006, her life and career really took shape after 2011, when the Denver native came out as transgender. Watch Westword videographer Andrew Bateman’s report here. And the right-leaning Colorado Peak Politics blog got into Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s…
The Colorado Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit in which four concertgoers claimed they were injured by falling rocks at Red Rocks Amphitheatre because of Denver’s negligence. The decision is a victory for the City of Denver, but a loss for the people who were hurt in the 2011 incident…
In June, Denver was awarded the Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community Award – for the second time – from the League of American Bicyclists, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes cities that consistently strive to improve biking safety and conditions and that adopt forward-thinking two-wheel policies…
It’s a truism among criminal justice scholars that crime doesn’t pay — or, as the Denver Post used to sneer in big black type back in the heyday of Bonfils and Tammen, “Crime Never Pays.” Offenders who wind up with a prison record are less likely to find gainful employment…
Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Engle didn’t start PeaceJam so they could see their names on the big screen, or hobnob with royalty in Monaco — although they’ve definitely done both. And they certainly didn’t start the Denver-based organization so that they could win the Nobel Peace Prize. But now, two…
Dear Mexican: I’ve been on sex-offender registry websites a couple of times, and it seems there are a lot of names ending with -ez. Is there an elevated rate of sexual deviancy amongst Mexicans? If so, why? El Güero Guapísimo Dear Readers: This is the first time in ¡Ask a…
On Monday, Denver Homeless Out Loud held a Funeral for Human Dignity outside a locked restroom at a public park, to illustrate the difficulty that the homeless have taking care of basic human needs. But the homeless aren’t the only ones who face hurdles when trying to find relief around…
Today the Colorado Board of Health rejected a petition to add Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as an acceptable condition for medical marijuana prescriptions, citing lack of sufficient scientific evidence that proves the plant’s effective treatment of PTSD. After listening to over twenty veterans, victims of abuse and family members of those…
Denver blogs are getting out and about. Feeling down? Maybe you need a good happy hour. Westword’s Chris Utterback lines up his ten best happy hour dishes in Denver. Meanwhile, our arts blog continues its coverage of the Biennial of the Americas, highlighting five shows worth seeing. And the music…
Things change quickly in Denver. Anyone who’s lived here for more than a few weeks has already figured that out — probably while they were throwing an umbrella, some sunscreen, a sweatshirt and a swimsuit into their backpack for the weekend. And longtime residents and natives, well, they can barely…
There are still ten days to go before the deadline for Denver Post reporters to announce whether they’re taking the latest buyout deal. But some takers have gone on record, including one who has the newsroom in shock this morning: Lynn Bartels, the hardest-working journalist in town, the writer who…
The comments keep coming regarding “The New ‘Hood,” our story on the changing Whittier neighborhood — and a class at Manual High School that has students studying those changes through the Gentrification Project. The discussion inspired by this story provides a continuing-education course on the hottest topic in Denver these…
The jury’s still out on the actual instructional value of the decrees in Perplexity Pictures’ web series Decrees, which debuts its first episode today. The show, which follows the exploits and misadventures of two twenty-something dudes trying to make it in this crazy world, compresses the character’s travails into dubious life-lessons (i.e.,…
Dear Stoner: I’ve noticed a few random dispensaries accept credit or debit cards as payment. I thought that stores were all cash-only because banks wouldn’t work with them. Travis Dear Travis: Even with all of the business conferences in which white-collar investors line up to get involved with cannabis-related companies,…
Did James Holmes know right from wrong when he walked into a sold-out Aurora movie theater nearly three years ago and began shooting? Or was he so mentally ill that he can’t be held responsible for murdering twelve people and injuring seventy others? That’s what a jury will have to decide…
