Wake-Up Call: We're not in Kansas anymore

Today's the last chance to vote for the next selection in the city's sixth One Book, One Denver reading program -- and no, despite the wacky weather lately, not to mention yesterday's funnel clouds over downtown Denver, the Wizard of Oz is not one of the possibilities. The 27 eligible books (which bear a marked resemblance to the classics included in the "The Big Read," the National Endowment for the Arts' very smart literary program) are listed at www.onebookonevote.org. Cross your fingers that the site stays glitch-free today; right now, the link from the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs isn't working.

While all eyes are on the sky, there's plenty of action on the ground this week, and several events will open the curtain so that the public can get an inside look at some of the vexing problems that face this city and state -- problems that won't disappear like those dramatic funnel clouds.

The 2009 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo runs today and tomorrow at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street. General Wesley Clark, co-chair of Growth Energy, will deliver the keynote address tomorrow morning. For a complete schedule, go to www.fuelethanolworkshop.com. Head to Colorado Springs for a different kind of genera. That's where Colorado Attorney General John Suthers is hosting the national Association of Attorneys General through Thursday. Get info at www.naag.org/naag-summer-meeting.php.

At 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, at the Denver Athletic Club, the Urban Land Institute will host a panel discussion of the FasTracks system and its affect on development. Learn more at www.colorado.uli.org

Starting on Tuesday, the city will host a series of public meetings to discuss Denver's proposed new zoning code. The first meeting runs from 6 to 9 p.m. June 16 at the Scheitler Recreation Center, 5031 West 46th Avenue (in Councilman Rick Garcia's district); the second from 6 to 9 p.m. June 17 in the Governor's Ballroom, 2055 East Evans Avenue (Chris Nevitt's district). For more dates and a draft of the code, go to www.newcodedenver.org.

And on Thursday, June 18, the Denver Botanic Gardens will be the site of the first Green Roofs of the West Symposium, an intensive look at building sustainability. The discussion kicks off at 8 a.m.. For information, go to www.botanicgardens.org.