Jose Cruz-Hernandez knew very little about where he was, aside from the fact that he was in a city named Aurora. He’d never been to the state of Colorado before, and yet suddenly he found himself blinking into the bright Colorado sunshine for the first time, the Rocky Mountains posing…
Mayor Michael Hancock delivered his annual State of the City address yesterday on the plaza outside Denver International Airport. His speech touched on a number of controversial issues in this city, including homelessness — but protesters who came to the event with signs were told to put them away and…
Just over a week ago, Denver officials admitted they used tens of thousands of dollars from a private donation fund connected with Denver’s Road Home to help pay for street sweeps that dismantled homeless encampments in early March. Calling it an “accounting error,” Mayor Michael Hancock said that the funds would…
Denver’s Civic Center will live up to its name today, with several civic demonstrations set for the park, from protests over police brutality to a satire of the mayor’s State of the City speech. Black Lives Matter 5280 started a 135-hour vigil — to honor the 135 black people killed…
In response to the tragedies in Dallas and “for the lives lost in St. Paul, Baton Rouge and too often across the nation,” yesterday Mayor Michael Hancock issued a call to action in Denver. In response, churches and community organizations across metro Denver “are opening up their doors so that…
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has been a political success in Colorado, and over the past few years his name has repeatedly popped up in talks of a Hillary Clinton vice-presidential running mate, most recently on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and inVanity Fair, where he ranks in the top seven possibilities as…
You don’t have to look far to see the long-term impact former Colorado Senator Bill Armstrong, who died of cancer yesterday at age 79, has had on the local and national political scene. Note that Friday’s Western Conservative Summit, at which presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had a very…
Many women could be credited with paving Hillary Clinton’s road to the White House, but none are as familiar to Coloradans as Pat Schroeder, the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado — who considered her own run for president almost thirty years ago. Schroeder formally endorsed Clinton for president…
Darryl Glenn, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, characterizes himself as “an unapologetic Christian-Constitutional-conservative-pro-life-Second-Amendment-loving American.” But onetime Alaska governor/ex-veep candidate Sarah Palin, who continues to have EDM-star status among a certain percentage of the GOP faithful despite holding no current electoral office, winnowed that description down to a single word:…
Donald Trump would probably tell you he had a good day Friday. Others might have a different take. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was in Denver Friday morning at the Western Conservative Summit, “the largest gathering of conservatives outside Washington, DC,” its website boasts. Trump tried to sell the crowd on…
In the weeks following the controversial March 8 and 9 street sweeps that dismantled homeless encampments along Park Avenue West, Westword learned via Colorado Open Records Act requests that the city had spent months preparing a revised “public encumbrance removal procedure” that dictated how the city would confiscate, and then…
Colorado is a purple state, but it was looking mighty black and blue two months ago after a pummeling by Donald Trump, who charged that this state’s political system was “crooked” and “rigged” on talk shows and in tweets — the last a form of communication ideally suited to the…
“My name is Darryl Glenn, and I’m an unapologetic Christian-Constitutional-conservative-pro-life-Second-Amendment loving American.” That’s how Glenn, an El Paso County Commissioner, introduced himself at this year’s Colorado Republican Convention — and as you’ll see in a video on view below, the crowd went wild. This reaction carried over to yesterday’s primary,…
Denver City Councilman Albus Brooks went to his Facebook page to share some life-changing news. A month ago, the District 9 representative was running the Bolder Boulder when he noticed stiffness in a muscle near his pelvis. A few meetings with doctors later, he found out he had a rare…
While some of this state’s Republicans have been dropping out of their party, it hasn’t been easy to be a registered Democrat in the days leaving up to the June 28 primary, either. The race to replace term-limited Mitch Morrissey as Denver District Attorney has become increasingly ugly, with endless…
What’s better than adding 15 percent more land to Red Rocks Park? Doing so at no extra cost to taxpayers. Yes, it’s true. On Wednesday, June 29, at a meeting of the Denver City Council infrastructure and culture committee, Denver Parks and Recreation will officially present a proposal to designate…
Longtime residents of Colorado may remember Dick Lamm as Governor Gloom, the somewhat affectionate nickname he acquired during his three terms as the state’s governor. But before he ascended to that office, he was a brash, obscure, thirty-something state representative bent on stopping the 1976 Winter Games, which were supposed…
Anyone who’s watched Denver television in recent years has likely seen commercials featuring attorney Frank Azar, who’s branded himself “The Strong Arm” — and who makes it clear that he’s willing to grill insurance companies on behalf of his clients. But Azar’s the one on the hot seat now —…
Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration has faced tough criticism in recent months over how Denver is approaching the issue of homelessness. Many advocates have condemned crowded shelters and enforcement actions, like the controversial street sweeps that made headlines during March and April of this year, charging that the city would do…
On Monday Denver City Council approved a short-term rental bill 11-2 largely out of respect for the two years it took to craft the ordinance, which was spearheaded by council member Mary Beth Susman. The bill legalizes and taxes STRs in Denver’s residential neighborhoods and requires operators to get a business license…
We recently noted that a list of the U.S. Zip Codes that have donated the most money to Donald Trump includes one in Denver. The Zip in question: 80237, which encompasses part of the Denver Tech Center. Most of our readers didn’t seem to view this as a point of…
Posting about every crazy thing said by Colorado State Representative Gordon Klingenschmitt would be a full time job. But some pronouncements from Klingenschmitt, who’s currently running for the state senate in District 12, are simply impossible to ignore. Including his claim that transgender icon Caitlyn Jenner “needs an exorcism.” Back in…
