Opinion & Commentary

Ten years ago this month Westword left LoDo — where the paper had been housed, in an assortment of offices, for more than twenty years, since long before lower downtown even had a hip nickname. Moving to the edge of the Golden Triangle, we found the space and parking we…

The Army wants to take over more of the ranchland around Pinon Canyon — but it’s not accounting adequately for the 238,000 acres it already has, taken 25 years ago in the largest land grab in the country’s history. On September 8, Judge Richard Matsch ruled that the Army’s 2007…

The nights get quiet in Northfield Stapleton. Driving along 29th Avenue Sunday night, I spotted a hardy crew in the Berkshire, one of the only homegrown spots in the neighborhood, but the chains surrounding that restaurant, and to the north in Northfield, were just about empty. But the area should…

When I last talked with former Congressman Tom Tancredo — about marijuana, of all things, which he’d like to see legalized, even though he’s never so much as attempted to inhale — he was just back from an October Constitution Party event in Phoenix, where he’d been urged to run…

The Tavern Hospitality Group is ready to take over the space in the Lowenstein project at 2510 East Colfax Avenue that was previously occupied by Neighborhood Flix, where it plans to open an event center (think the Soiled Dove in Lowry) and a Tavern (think Wash Park, Uptown, etc). But…

Timing is everything. On Thursday, Senator Michael Bennet voted against Lindsey Graham’s amendment that would have barred the Obama administration from trying anyone accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks in federal district courts, instead using military commissions at Guantanamo. And Bennet wasn’t alone: Graham’s proposal was tabled by a vote…

We were at Table 6 last night, at a Samuel Adams beer dinner, testing the Winter Lager, the Holiday Porter, the new Samuel Adams Barrel Aged Collection of three special brews that will only be offered in select cities, including Denver. We were testing all kinds of beer, with one…

How do you know you’re in a classic dive? It helps if the owner stands up and welcomes you to his place — the place he’s had for 58 years, and bought before he was old enough to own it legally. Jerry Feld bought the bar at 404 Broadway back…

The 2010 election is less than a year away, and judging from this past Tuesday’s vote, things are going to get plenty messy. But here in Colorado, we’re still cleaning up after the dirty dealings of 2006. The gubernatorial race was particularly bad, with 527s and party operatives pushing the…

First, Hapa Sushi owner Mark Van Grack offered free orange undies to participants in last week’s Naked Pumpkin Run, urging them to “Run Responsibly.” Now he’s fired up an ad that includes a map of metro Denver with the four Hapa Sushi locations marked in red — and 59 local…

What’s happened to the liberal mecca of Boulder? First, cops put a lid — and some pants — on plans to resurrect the Halloween Mall Crawl, as well as the Naked Pumpkin Run. And now the city’s looking at strictly regulating medical marijuana dispensaries — if it doesn’t ban them…

Happy birthday to Twelve, which brought fine dining to a less-than-fine location at 2233 Larimer Street last fall, but has survived that first tough year. And tonight, chef/owner Jeff Osaka will celebrate his restaurant’s first birthday by gifting diners with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine and an amuse-bouche to…

There’s nothing mellow about medical marijuana in Colorado. In a wacky emergency session yesterday, the Colorado Board of Health tossed out its definition of “caregiver” to comply with a recent Court of Appeals decision, postponing the adoption of any new herbiage verbiage until December 16. In the meantime, Denver City…

It’s been a year since Neighborhood Flix, the ambitious movie theater/café in the Lowenstein project, pulled the plug — but with any luck, the lights will soon be back on at 2510 East Colfax Avenue. That’s because Frank Schultz, who runs Tavern Hospitality Group (owner of the Cowboy Lounge, the…

The state isn’t letting any grass grow under its feet — and may be looking at prohibiting grass growing in your basement. The Colorado Board of Health has scheduled an Emergency Rulemaking Hearing for 10:30 a.m. today, to discuss — and possibly eliminate — its definition of “significant responsibility for…

Marilyn Musgrave’s political career rose from the dead last week, as the former Colorado congresswoman and current director of the Susan B. Anthony List’s Votes Have Consequences project campaigned for the election of Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate running for the 23rd Congressional seat left vacant when Republican John…

Hapa Sushi takes public — and pubic — service seriously. Stop by the popular sushi bar at 1117 Pearl Street in Boulder to pick up your free pair of orange underpants — briefs or thongs, featuring the Hapa logo and the words “Run Responsibly” — and you’ll be covered against…

Pam and Ricardo Martinez met on a United Farm Workers picket line in California. Now, almost forty years later, they share a life, a family, a passion for social justice and Padres y Jovenes Unidos, the Denver nonprofit they co-founded in 1991 — as well as another big national honor…

Sheriff’s deputies have run into a roadblock in their push to get an initiative on the Denver ballot: the Denver Elections Division has determined that more than half of the almost 60,000 signatures on initiative petitions were invalid. The deputies need 41,666 valid signatures to put the measure, which would…

It’s the wild, wild West,” proclaims Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown, who’s getting ready to give medical marijuana speculators a good, swift kick with his cowboy boot, to get them to toe whatever line the city decides to draw. Better that, he says, than kick them out of Denver altogether…