Blogs

The fact that the Denver District Attorney’s Office actually filed aggravated assault charges and arrested Denver Police Officer Chuck Porter on May 8 shows how serious the allegations against him are. The incident on April 18, which occurred in the lower Highland neighborhood near Chubbies on 38th Avenue, sent sixteen-year-old Juan Vasquez to the hospital with broken ribs, a lacerated liver and other injuries -- all after Porter, a gang unit officer, allegedly stomped on him.

The arrest warrant for Porter, released May 9, states that about 9:30 p.m. officers spotted Vasquez drinking what appeared to be alcohol. He ran when officers tried to talk to him, but was quickly caught after a brief chase. Two other officers witnessed Porter jump up and down on Vasquez's back three to five times while the teen lay stomach-down on the ground, according to the document.

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The process of researching virtually every article produces far more material than can possibly fit into the finished piece -- and a lot of the leftovers are every bit as interesting as the stuff that makes the final cut. That was certainly the case for the May 8 Message column, which dealt with cutbacks in travel being made by local news organizations.

Below, find additional information gleaned from conversations with six of the executives who play a big part in determining what news makes its way to you via traditional media means: Channel 9 news director Patti Dennis, who details planned Olympics coverage to be anchored by anchor Mark Koebrich (pictured); Denver Post editor Greg Moore, who expands on his theory about why the paper needs to send reporters to coverage major sporting events even if Denver teams aren't participating; Kris Olinger, director of AM programming for Clear Channel, who reveals the leanness of production teams that cover out-of-town games; Rocky Mountain News editor John Temple, who talks about the differences he perceives between TV sports coverage and the kind offered by newspapers; Channel 7 news director Byron Grandy, who concedes that he's seldom sent his personnel out of state of late; and Channel 4 news director Tim Wieland, who says his decision about whether to put talent on-site at the Olympics has a lot to do with which network has rights to the contests.

The only thing these extras lack is a commentary track:

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It’s a classic, and occasionally overused TV news trick: the secret-camera Gotchya! But in the case of beer-guzzling Fourth Judicial District D.A. John Newsome – who was videotaped by KOAA in Colorado Springs drinking 134 ounces of the sudsy stuff over a five-hour period – the reporting was both newsworthy and entertaining.

Newsome at first disputed the story, which showed him imbibing at least seven beers (two of them twenty-ounces) at a couple of Colorado Springs bars during work hours and then wielding his El Paso County-owned vehicle through town. But he later apologized, saying, “I realize I need to be setting the standard for setting an example, and that's what I'll strive to do."

Colorado Springs police says they can’t investigate the D.A. for DUI since any legal evidence would be impossible to obtain at this point.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t charge Newsome with full-blown shmuckery.

For last week’s Shmuck, click here.

Have you been injured in an auto accident? If so, call attorney Frank Azar, "The Strong Arm." He’s been fighting insurance companies in Colorado for years and he’ll get you a $25,000 settlement. Then, you can turn around and sue Frank Azar (profiled by Westword in 2002) for half of a million dollars, claiming he pressured you to take less than you were due. 40-year-old Shawna Jimenez of Colorado Springs did just that and now an El Paso County jury has awarded her $145,000. Thanks, Frank Azar! " – Jared Jacang Maher

The Rocky Mountain News is hardly the only news organization saving a few bucks by pushing staffers to tackle tasks outside their area of specialty -- the topic of a May 6 More Messages blog. On May 8, viewers who tuned in Channel 4's morning show saw traffic expert Lynn Carey (pictured), who can usually be found standing before street maps in the CBS affiliate's studio, on location in Arapahoe County, updating the latest developments in the trial of Sir Mario Owens, who's facing a first-degree-murder charge in the 2005 killings of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe.

Clearly, this tale has nothing to do with blocked intersections or road-construction projects. But there's another reason that assigning Carey to cover the story is unusual: She has little background in news reporting.

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Boy, you got me good. Woke up the other morning, looked out the back window and noticed something funny. The yard was bigger. Wait, it wasn’t bigger, there was just less stuff in it. The patio table was gone, along with the patio chairs. Oh, the gas grill was missing, too.

I first wondered if you, the perpetrator, were the same one who stole the copper-colored solar lights from our front walkway last summer. I reasoned you weren’t, though, since this new crime seemed to constitute a level of intelligence above the numbskull who’d figured the lights were made of actual copper and were worth nabbing – a mistake his comrades in sin surely still josh him about: “Hey, remember that time you tried to melt down those lawn lights and ended up getting brain damage from the toxic fumes of the copper-colored plastic? Man, I wish we had that on video.”

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This missive about Balls! recently arrived from a Denver native and frequent bold name:

I read your column about Denver. Granted the tourism office's efforts are an easy target, but boy, you are starting to sound like Gene Amole! Although a hipper, more in-tune Gene Amole, but just as cranky.

In my defense, I pointed out a distinct difference between the late Amole's crankiness and my own: The Rocky Mountain News columnist was usually complaining about change (and often rightfully so). I was complaining that the Colorado Tourism Office hasn't recognized just how much in this state has changed for the better -- specifically, its dining scene, which has gone far beyond Rocky Mountain oysters.

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When the Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar opened in the fall of 2006, founding director Adam Lerner declared his interest in searching the world for contemporary artists while simultaneously announcing his disinterest in trying to find any of them around here. And Lerner held to that outsiders-only approach for more than a year before he figured out that he needed to build an audience. It was obviously clear to him that a lot of people in the Denver area would be attracted to shows by artists from our own community as much or more than to the efforts of artists from elsewhere.

To begin with, Lerner tentatively placed locals in pseudo-exhibits in the unfortunately named Poop Deck. But the first Colorado artist to be given proper gallery space at the Lab -- and to thus actually break this geographic version of the color barrier -- was Phil Bender, (pictured), the Mile High City’s premier folk conceptualist.

Bender’s show, Last Place, which closed this past Sunday, was a crowded affair filled to the brim with his signature assemblages in which the artist collects together a group of similar things—ladders, rulers, belts, pictures, whatever—and then simply lines them up on the walls. It may sound ridiculously simple, but it often works, leading to creations that are powerful and fun to look at.

Though its run is over, the installation is still in place and will provide the backdrop for Bender Bender, billed as “a party” and “roast” of the artist. It gets under way tonight, Tuesday, May 6, at 7 p.m. at the Lab (404 South Upham Street, 303-934-1777, www.belmarlab.org) and is free with prior registration. — Michael Paglia

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The age of specialization in newspapers may not be over, but given the strained financial situation in which the industry currently finds itself, staffers are frequently being asked to move outside their comfort zones.

The May 6 edition of the Rocky Mountain News is a case in point, with several scribes, including theater pro Lisa Bornstein (pictured), ranging off the paths they typically beat. Meanwhile, the Business section is absolutely dominated by copy that didn't originate in the Rocky's newsroom.

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The Denver Film Society has announced that executive director Scott Rowitz will be taking off for a position at the California Film Institute. Rowitz has held the post since 2002 and has overseen significant growth in general ticket sales as well as increased attendance at the Starz Denver Film Festival, which jumped from 19,500 in 2000 to 45,000 in 2007. Last November, festival founder Ron Henderson stepped down as artistic director of the annual event. A search of a new executive director is in the works. Until then, Starz FilmCenter Development Director Arpie Chucovich will fill in as honcho. –- Jared Jacang Maher

Some undercover stenciler left some fresh Alice in Wonderland-themed street art in the alleyway behind the Westword building at 969 Broadway this weekend. The text reads, “We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” The white stencil (after the jump) features some fairies spooning. Very pretty. Just watch your step for bum turds, which can be pretty too, but in a different way. –Jared Jacang Maher

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We signed up for this. As sports fans, we know our passion is a losing proposition, that our beloved will betray us, that caring deeply about things beyond any measure of control will inevitably lead to feelings of profound disappointment and impotence. We know this and still we care, we continue to lie to ourselves, rationalizing away this loss and justifying this win. Fans are, if nothing else, quixotic.

And when the season ends in inevitable disappointment, the smelling salts hit us almost immediately. Our delicate towers of bullshit are torn down like statues of Saddam and we begin speaking in relative terms. "That was a pretty good year," we say. "Not too bad, all things considered," or "At least we're not the Raiders." We might be bummed out for a little while, but for the most part, we just shake our heads, shrug our shoulders and transfer the self-delusion back onto other facets of our lives.

Yet even under the accepted rules of engagement, this has been a brutal week for Colorado sports. For those of you unencumbered by the burden of fandom, here’s a quick recap of the miserable week you were completely oblivious to:

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Slide show by Aaron Thackeray

Few stories illustrate the different gauges broadcast media and newspapers use to determine newsworthiness than the one involving a May 4 Allegiant Air flight from Las Vegas to Fort Collins. During the landing at the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport, the plane overshot the runway by approximately ten feet, but none of the 145 passengers or five crew members were injured. Nevertheless, most of the Denver-area TV stations either led their newscasts with the tale or placed it near the top of the roster. In contrast, the two local dailies more or less shrugged it off.

Why the different approaches?

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Can we talk? The Colorado Tourism Office still has some work to do.

A few minutes ago, Fox News offered a distinctly unfair view of Colorado skiing. Specifically, that all Colorado ski areas are now closed, which was too bad, said the distinctly blonde anchor (who last week mispronounced "groin"), because when she flew through Denver on Thursday it was snowing! In May!

But a quick check of the Colorado Ski Country website reveals that three resorts are still holding on: Loveland and Echo Mountain will shut down Sunday evening after a weekend of parties. And Arapahoe Basin, which was the first resort in North America to open this season, will hold out until the snow runs out, certainly well into June.

So let's talk Colorado! Next Saturday, the state tourism office should send a delegation from Arapahoe Basin to do a snow job on the Fox newsroom in New York City, where the CTO just put on its pricey show last month.(If the Fox folks can wear Kentucky Derby hats today, they can wear ski boots next week.) Better yet, Colorado should challenge Fox to broadcast live from A-Basin, and party at the Beach. -- Patricia Calhoun