The 16th Street Mall: Even the homeless look better this week

It’s the 16th Street Mall, Downtown Denver Partnership style. An interesting mix of people roamed the 16th Street Mall late afternoon on Saturday. The folks who usually hang out there weren’t entirely absent, but they seemed changed somehow, spiffed up. For instance, I saw what has to be the cleanest…

Street scenes from the DNC

Starting at Cuernavaca Park, we made the rounds through LoDo on Sunday afternoon, past the MSNBC set behind Union Station and amongst the protesters on the 16th Street Mall. Consider this slide show a sneak peek of the week ahead. — Dave Herrera…

Taking in the ‘American Presidential Experience’

A willingness to make an ass of yourself if key to enjoying most things in life. The American Presidential Experience, an exhibit that fills a good chunk of the parking lot at Invesco Field at Mile High, is pretty much what you’d expect — in a good way. The primary…

The weekend before the DNC: Denver International Airport

“Howdy folks.” As (bad) luck would have it, my son, Nick, was scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C. to begin his second year at the Catholic University of America early on Sunday morning, during the very weekend that thousands of Washingtonians were fleeing their fair city to come to Denver…

Flood the market with bizarre Obama-wear? Yes we can!

Slideshow. Gas masks, pantsuits and “Buck Fush” shirts aren’t the only fashion statements being made on the streets of Denver as the DNC ramps up this week. An army of street vendors are making sure the politically inclined but stylistically hopeless have every opportunity to embarrass their loved ones with…

That was quick! Anarchists amass downtown; traffic snarled for hours

Welcome to Denver! Click here to see highlights from Sunday afternoon. Between 300 and 500 self-proclaimed anarchists associated with the far-left group Unconventional Action weaved through downtown Denver for several hour this afternoon, in an unscheduled march that blocked numerous streets and intersections. It began around 2 p.m. in conjunction…

The first DNC protest arrests?

At about 11:15 a Denver Department of Corrections bus — the same type used last year to haul away arrested Columbus Day Parade protesters — drove by the Westword offices with a police escort. The windows were covered with mesh, but about a dozen people could be seen in the…

Denver, the day before the DNC storm

I thought I’d seen everything just before midnight on Friday, when suddenly there were swarms of available cabs around 15th and Platte streets. Denver is many things, but it’s never been a town where you can hail a cab…until now. On Saturday, August 23, the only thing more plentiful than…

DNC security cameras brings new era of Big Brother to Denver

This camera can see a lot more than the Pepsi Center. Do you ever get that funny feeling you’re being watched? Well if you’re anywhere near downtown Denver during the Democratic National Convention, you probably are. Over the past three weeks, the Denver Police Department has quietly rolled out an…

The view from Inside the Pepsi Center

Check one two. I didn’t learn much during the Pepsi Center’s community walk-through today that I didn’t already know, but I did get a feel for just how massive an operation the Democratic National Convention and the accompanying media coverage will be. Just getting to the Pepsi Center from the…

Dean Singleton’s cow-ardice

Dean Singleton, image protector. In this morning’s Denver feature on National Public Radio, reporter Jeff Brady purports to share with listeners the five things visitors to the Democratic National Convention should do while here but probably won’t. His first item, though, is actually something DNC attendees should do but can’t…

Abortion-opponent to deliver DNC closing prayer

Joel C. Hunter. There have been loads o’ rumors about who else will be in the spotlight during Barack Obama’s August 28 Invesco Field at Mile High acceptance speech. For instance, the Denver Post’s Bill Husted puts odds of a Bruce Springsteen appearance at 95 percent. But someone who’s publicly…

The bizarre conclusion to our Obama speech tickets tale

At least the tickets seem to be the real things. As chronicled here and here, my family and I had essentially given up on getting tickets for Barack Obama’s August 28 Invesco Field at Mile High acceptance speech despite having registered for them within minutes of the press conference announcing…

How to be a model DNC volunteer

“Sparkle, people! Sparkle!” In case you’re jealous of those savvy Obama fans who volunteered to help out at the DNC (and thus increase their proximity to The Hopeful One), here’s something that should make you feel better. It’s an orientation video that a friend of mine was required to watch…

Six DNC events worth watching

Anti-abortion protesters will hold several rallies this weekend. The DNC has inspired hundreds of protests and programs. Below are a half-dozen of the most interesting. And for glimpse at all the different protesters you’ll encounter this week — from angry Hillaryites to street-theater weirdos — see Jared Jacang Maher’s Protester…

Maker’s Mark gets into the DNC spirit

Rock the vote on the rocks. Maker’s Mark plans to make its mark during the Democratic and Republican national conventions by selling special bottles of bourbon dipped in red, white and blue wax (or blue, red and white wax, depending on your politics, says company spokeswoman Jamie Hakim) and adorned…

Watering down the high costs of Invesco Field at Mile High

Quench your thirst on the way to Invesco. First things first: No beer. But all other concessions will be open for business at Invesco Field at Mile High on Thursday, August 28, as documented in this Rocky Mountain News piece — and they’ll be the only option for people who…

DNC Craigslist rentals: File under are you f$*king crazy?!?

Party at Dan’s place! As anyone who’s searched for an apartment in the last month knows — and as the New York Times pointed out this morning — Denver’s craigslist outpost is little more than a DNC housing swap meet these days. Everyone within 25 miles of the Pepsi Center,…