This week, Colorado Supreme Court justices heard arguments from lawyers representing three juvenile offenders currently serving mandatory life without parole — a sentence now considered unconstitutional. The Supreme Court’s decision in one of these cases could affect how Colorado treats its juvenile offenders going forward…
In recent years, much of Colorado has been stricken by drought. This year, in contrast, we’ve received so much precipitation that tragedies are multiplying, with a Western Slope mudslide that took three lives to a series of rafting deaths of the Poudre River that have led to three casualties as…
Media outlets have been reporting for months (or longer, in the case of Westword) about how law enforcement officers in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oklahoma and other Colorado border states are stopping cars with green-and-white license plates more often since the legalization of marijuana here. (One out-of-state cop reportedly referred to…
Last year around this time, as members of the Miami Heat were embroiled in what turned out to be a second consecutive NBA-championship run, we reported that an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation targeting Chris “Birdman” Andersen was still open a full year after authorities had raided his Larkspur home…
No, this isn’t a human Etch A Sketch. It’s Justin Lamb, who was recently arrested for allegedly dragging a police officer from a car — and not, apparently, for the “FUCK COPS” tattoo on the back of his head. For obvious reasons, Lamb’s mug shot was one of May’s most…
Is it possible that 78-year-old William Macumber is both innocent of an Arizona double-murder for which he spent nearly four decades in prison and guilty of sexually abusing a Colorado child who’s also a member of his own family? That’s among the possibilities in a case that’s shocking on every…
Update: Our original post about the arrest of Sterling teens Brendan Johnson and Cassandra Rieb for allegedly murdering his grandparents, Charles and Shirley Severance, contained plenty of unsettling information; see our previous coverage below. But claims from a newly released arrest affidavit in the case are infinitely more shocking. Among…
“Going, going, gone,” Off Limits, May 15 The Bus Stops Here I’m intrigued by the “Going, Going, Gone” title. I mean, I understand the link between longer-distance travel and the need for bathrooms at each end of a three-block-long bus concourse, but as a candidate for the RTD board, I…
For our second annual Comics issue and contest, we asked cartoonists (and would-be cartoonists) to send us comics depicting life in Colorado. Sit back and enjoy the winning submissions – including Melanie Gillman’s taxonomy of Denver cat-callers and Josh Divine’s homage to Longmont – and more, now posted at westword.com…
Dear Stoner: Have there been any studies conducted on the benefits of using cannabis to help treat PMS?I’m Mean Once a Month Dear Mean: I hear you (sassy finger snaps). No, seriously, I know that PMS isn’t all about being a stereotypical raging bitch to the random barista who happens…
The Clinic’s fifth annual charity golf tournament, which benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Colorado-Wyoming chapter, has doubled in size from previous years, but organizers say it’s already sold out. Although the Clinic hasn’t announced how much money it’s raised from participants and sponsors, the total’s at least $32,500 thanks…
In a recent interview, NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre argued in favor of Colorado allowing venues for the consumption of cannabis. We asked folks on our Facebook page for their views and got plenty of strong opinions, including this one…
Denver blog posts know that the “ED” in “EDM” doesn’t stand for “erectile dysfunction.” At our Backbeat blog, a writer who shall remain nameless talks about going to an EDM show sober for the first time ever. Purple Row offers a Major League Baseball draft preview. Free Range Longmont’s Dan…
The New York Times has just hit the Colorado marijuana scene with a one-two punch. First was a weekend piece about the “downside of a legal high” that NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre specifically cited as dubious in a recent Westword interview. And now, columnist Maureen Dowd is sharing…
There are only supposed to be six degrees of separation between actor Kevin Bacon and the rest of humanity. But at this writing, the distance still appears to be considerable between KB, who’s currently filming a movie called Cop Car in the Colorado Springs area, and a local reporter who…
Tim Kelley has worked on a number of high-profile cases during his nineteen years with the Denver Police Department, including the murder of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams on New Year’s Day 2007. Now, however, Kelley, 49, is receiving press coverage as an alleged perpetrator of crime, not a law…
Colorado voters may have favored legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana, but not every community wants it. Last night, the Littleton City Council voted 4-3 for an ordinance that would prohibit retail marijuana businesses there…
Back in February, we shared a list of America’s ten fittest cities as compiled by Sharecare.com — a roster on which Denver finished first. Now, however, the American Fitness Institute has issued rankings of its own, and while Denver finishes high, it’s definitely not number one. Is Denver slipping down…
Back in January 2013, we told you about the arrest of two Boulder police officers, Samuel Carter and Brent Curnow, on charges related to the shooting and killing of Big Boy, an elk beloved by members of the Mapleton neighborhood. Authorities suspected they bagged the elk as a trophy, then…
Last week, we shared news about the U.S. House voting to defund DEA medical marijuana raids in states where the substance is legal. But that doesn’t mean the count was unanimous — even here. Indeed, three of Colorado’s seven representatives voted against the defunding amendment, including U.S. senatorial candidate Cory…
Yesterday, we told you about an early morning triple shooting near Cold Crush, a hip-hop venue we named 2013’s best new bar in Denver. Afterward, the opinions flowed about the venue and the neighborhood surrounding the 2700 block of Larimer, where the incident took place. Here’s a comment from a…
Denver blog posts are all about looking fine. At our Backbeat blog, Isa Jones highlights the ten best outfits seen during Bassnectar’s weekend at Red Rocks. Big Media’s Jason Salzman doesn’t understand why no one in the media has written about Bob Beauprez flipping on the individual mandate. Colorado Peak…
