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Matt Holliday is sick to death of being asked if he was really safe. “I get tired of hearing people talk about whether I touched the plate or not,” the Colorado Rockies slugger tells me as he’s seated in front of his locker, taking down a bowl of oatmeal before…

Demolition is underway at the Dunes Motel on East Colfax Avenue, the beginning of the end for a line of motels that once stood as the gateway to the great American West, but has more recently become known as a string of flops for drugs, prostitution and homeless families. The…

With the NBC debut of quarterlife, the web-originated series by the thirtysomething team of the capital-letter hating team of Herskovitz and Zwick, entertainment has taken a big step. Whether that step is forward or backward has yet to be determined (being the first to move from web to TV is…

Internationally-renowned contemporary artist Roberto Juarez, who is based in New York, is in Denver now for a stint as a visiting artist at Metropolitan State College of Denver. But even non-students have a chance to learn from — and about — him. That’s because Juarez will discuss his work and…

I have a date with Mike Jones. Actually, it’s a threesome – with Paula Woodward. Tomorrow night, Jones, the gay escort/masseuse who made headlines in November 2006 when he revealed the identity of one of his regulars, will take the stage in Naked Before God: Exposing the Hypocrisy of Ted…

Chrysalis, a social services program managed by Lois Clayton (pictured) that tries to get drug-addicted prostitutes off the streets and off drugs (profiled in this Westword feature), will graduate two participants from its intensive program today despite recent financial woes. Until recently, the program — which consists of psychotherapy, addiction…

Back in 1982, Sandy Widener, one of Westword’s co-founders who by then had gone on to far more respectable employment with Rocky Mountain Magazine, was charged with coming up with a campaign slogan for Federico Pena, a lawyer/legislator and very dark-horse candidate running for mayor of Denver. John Parr, Sandy’s…

Television interviewers must walk a fine line when chatting with newsmakers, maintaining a polite exterior without doing anything to reveal their true feelings about the subject’s agenda. Throughout his career, Ron Zappolo, a veteran Denver TV personality who currently anchors Channel 31’s highest profile news shows, has maintained this balance,…

It’s no secret that police are logging onto MySpace to dig up incriminating information for criminal investigations. But who would’ve thought that cops are actually getting ON MySpace? Check out the official social networking page for the Denver Police Department that was registered last December. It not only has a…

After many months of on-stage joking that he was going to name his child “Borat,” Josh Blue, Denver comedian and winner of Last Comic Standing , balked. He named the kid Simon instead. Simon Blue was born happy and healthy on Monday, March 10, and Daddy Blue is pleased to…

“Is this your first time dining with us?” she asks, smiling. In response, I just bob my head like a moron—completely gone on whatever weird cocktail of hormones and brain chemicals it is that makes a grown man fall in love with a menu, with nothing more than words on…

Birdman is back. Two years after being kicked out of the NBA for violating the league’s drug policy, Chris “Birdman” Andersen signed a free agent contract with the New Orleans Hornets. After being reinstated earlier this month, Birdman said that he was grateful for the second chance. Before his suspension,…

Two shows open this week at the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, with public receptions to be held Friday, March 14 from 6 to 10 pm. Split between The Whole Room on the lower level and The Promenade on the second floor, is Making Public Buildings featuring recent work by David…

Denver has had newspaper wars for as long as there have been newspapers, and just because the size of the papers is shrinking doesn’t mean this war is any less intense. But another, newer battle between media outlets took place last week, and it was even more…heated. The Women’s Bean…

View larger specimen In order to make more sense of the world around us, illustrator and public house naturalist Nate Stone is compiling here a taxonomy of different barflies. While you’re out and about in Denver, if you spot any of these specimens please add your observations about their habitat…

As we first reported in our February 28 cover story, Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers has found an unusual way to fund half of the six death-penalty prosecutions her office is now pursuing. She’s billed the Colorado Department of Corrections hundreds of thousands of dollars for those efforts, using…

Another Friday night, another eating competition at Olde Tyme Draft and Dawgs. This time, though, it wasn’t hot dogs on the line on March 7, but cookies. Now, my friend Micah has an amazing capacity for sweets. Actually, he has an amazing capacity for just about any food, but he’s…

If you missed any or all of these art shows this weekend, you missed out. But fear not, Denver, you can get a taste of what went on this weekend right here. Friday was First Friday. Here’s a slide show sample of some of the great work on display…

An item in the November 22, 2007 Message talks about an arrangement between the Rocky Mountain News and the Colorado Springs Gazette to share reportage — an arrangement that has led to bylines from one paper regularly appearing in the other. This deal isn’t an exclusive one, though, and in…

Former Colorado governor Ralph Carr has been dead since 1950 and obscure for nearly as long. But he’s returned to the public eye of late thanks to Channel 9 reporter Adam Schrager, whose new biography, The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story, celebrates the bravery of its central player. Carr’s…