Denver News Blog

Brett Klein, up for parole in a mere 381 years.

​This week's Westword feature, "The Quality of Mercy," looks at an option for cutting prison costs that Governor Bill Ritter hasn't tried -- reducing prison time for inmates who may have received excessively long sentences and are unlikely to pose a risk to public safety. The cases discussed in the article aren't necessarily the most deserving of clemency, but they represent different inequities in the system.

And when it comes to long sentences, few people can match the time heaped on burglar turned stick-up man Brett S. Klein.

Ugly-ass striped socks were de rigeur for fashion-unconscious fans.

​I'm not generally in favor of so-called NFL "legacy" games, in which teams are required to wear their hideous and humiliating uniforms of yore and the fans are barraged with waves of schlock and nostalgia: old geezers from golden-age squads out on the field to get special plaques, commemorative programs, clips of the '82 Blizzard Bowl, and so on. It all seems like yet another layer of lame marketing in an already corporately overloaded spectacle.

But the Broncos-Patriots game, celebrating fifty years of AFL rivalry, was a different experience. Especially if you caught the game from the stands instead of on the tube.

​Our daily perusal of local web goodness.

At HuffPo Denver, Alan Gottlieb writes that we need to demand more of our teachers -- and compensate them accordingly (H/T Education News Colorado).

With Dems in control, Congresswoman Diana DeGette might finally be in position to save some wilderness, Colorado Independent reports.

Denver Egotist points out that letter press shops are popping up around Denver -- and they have photos to prove it.

Sweet Relief: On-again, off-again mop-up ROOGY Joel Peralta takes a walk in a bridal gown by Lisa Ramfjord Elstun, while curveballer Rafael Betancourt gets more than his fair share of strikes in a Coors can crochet dress by Katie Wells.

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Pitcher Adam Eaton swings in a cocktail dress by Asha Monique, while center fielder Eric Young, Jr. hits his first career home run in an evening dress by Rachel Tai...

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Colorado Frockies manager Jim Tracy shows who's boss in a power-fringe ensemble from Team Firefox, and Matt Murton comes from way out of left field in a duct-tape and plastic-tarp gown designed by Izzy Bristow...

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Pitchers and catchers: Pitcher Jeff Francis winds up in a side-slit dress by Francis Roces and catcher Paul Phillips swings in a bridal gown by Rae Marie...

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Stitch and pitch: Happy hooker Greg Smith throws some curves in a cocktail dress by Tran Wills, while sinker-baller Greg Reynolds works the stitches of a power suit by Kotomi Yoshida....

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A baseball card collection featuring Colorado's boys of summer (dresses) sporting the fashions of Denver designers. Shortstop Chris Nelson rocks a miniskirt by Haley Mariah, while pitcher Samuel Deduno covers the mound in an apron by Margo Cory...

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Ty Tomlinson: best hair in Denver County Jail

​Editor's note: A few comments have been removed from this thread, in accordance with Westword's policy against identifying the victims or alleged victims of sexual crimes.

Denver hair stylist Ty Tomlinson, owner of Blanc salon in the Golden Triangle, was arrested Monday on charges of sexual assault and domestic violence. Police allege that the thirty-year-old physically abused a former employee on several occasions over the course of their one-year relationship. The charges also include an allegation of "unlawful sexual contact" against the female victim during an incident in January.

Blanc has been named a top salon in Denver for several years by readers of 5280, which has also dubbed Tomlinson a local "Beauty Guru" for his hair coloring skills. This summer, an online reality show followed Tomlinson and his stylists as they prepared models for fashion-forward events thrown by promoters such as Greg Bloom and Kevin Larsen. The salon, at 1133 Bannock Street, is listed as the location where many of the alleged assaults took place.

Colorado's high-speed rail will be just like this, only way whiter and way more expensive.

​Our daily mug of local bloggage. Chug! Chug! Chug!

The state's budget crisis sucks ... unless you're a prisoner! (5280)

Does this high-speed rail system have a message car? Why is it so expensive? (Colorado Independent)

Why are old crappy motel signs so cool? (Denver Egotist)

A baseball card collection featuring Colorado 's boys of summer (dresses) sporting the fashions of Denver designers. Dexter Fowler is the first Frockie to hit a home run off in a perfect bridal gown by Janet White....

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A baseball card collection that features Colorado's boys of summer (dresses) sporting the fashions of Denver designers. Hit-leader Garrett Atkins scores big in this Indian-inspired chiffon wrap skirt and asymmetrical cropped top made of silk brocade by Kandyce Hudson....

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A baseball card collection that features Colorado's boys of summer (dresses) in the fashions of Denver designers. Powerful left-handed pitcher Franklin Morales will get more ground ball outs in this top-of-the-rotation starter party dress by Armando Guerra....

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A baseball card collection that features Colorado's boys of summer (dresses) sporting the fashions of Denver designers. That late-night downtown roar is for Ryan Spilborghs and his 14th-inning casual glam slam in the hippest chic of Mona Lucero...

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Mark Udall

​Our daily cast for tasty blogs. If you don't like them, throw 'em back!

Udall, McCain: Let's get nuclear up in this bitch! (Colorado Pols)

The Rockies actually lost last night, but the umps are a bunch of pussies and didn't call it. (Did I mention I'm a lifelong Giants fan?) (Inside the Rockies)

The Denver 50 entry call: Where your ideas turn into... well, I'm not sure, but the poster is f-ing cool. (Denver Egotist)

A baseball card collection that features the boys of summer (dresses) sporting the fashions of Denver designers. What better confidence booster for pitcher Jason Hammel than a classic power suit cut from luxurious fabrics by Gino Velardi....

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A baseball card collection that features Colorado's boys of summer (dresses) sporting the fashions of Denver designers. Relief pitcher Joe Beimel shows off his ink in a halter mini-dress trimmed with purple macrame by Alec Smith....

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A baseball card collection that features Colorado's boys of summer (dresses) in the fashions of Denver designers. An underrated backup catcher like Yorvit Torrealba rocks the bold-striped finish of this strapless cocktail dress by Jose Clark....

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​A mere four years ago, at the height of the mid-Bush economic frenzy (post-9/11 recession, pre-mortgage meltdown), a certain Niwot-based manufacturer of plastic boat shoes could do no wrong. Crazily colored, beloved by gardeners and ER personnel and children of all ages, Crocs were conquering the world. The company was bursting into new product lines, snapping up other firms, going international and about to launch the most successful stock offering the shoe business had ever seen.

This despite the shoe being a kind of metaphysical absurdity -- light yet ungainly, ugly as original sin, void of fashion sense, and with a certain penchant for getting snagged in escalators. In short, a fad in all its fleeting glory. For more on the shoe's heady times, see my fruitless 2005 quest for the perfect Croc, "A Really Big Shoe."

These days, of course, it's a different story.

A baseball card collection that features Colorado's boys of summer (dresses) in the fashions of Denver designers. Rookie reliever Matt Daley pitches the perfect scoreless inning in a one-strap cocktail dress by Nancy Sedar Sherman....

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A baseball card collection that features Colorado's boys of summer (dresses) in the fashions of Denver designers. Left Fielder Carlos Gonzalez can better chase his (field of) dreams in a bright, bold-print halter dress made from vintage fabrics by Taryn Slawson....

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​Jill Warner of Denver's popular mid-century/modern design emporium Mod Livin' had no trouble rooting out local designers of furniture and decorative objects when she put out the call for Denver by Design, a competition intended to connect Colorado's indigenous design community with the forthcoming Denver Modernism Show. Sixty of them sent submissions; from those, a diverse jury of locals-in-the-know chose 25 finalists.

Now it's time to toss your voice into the broth. Warner is hosting 5 x 5, a free series of conversations with the finalists, beginning tonight at 6 p.m. and continuing at the same time every Monday through August 31. Not only will you be able to see the work and learn a little bit about what inspires the designers as they go through the process of creating an object, but you'll also be able to place a vote for your favorite project online during August at www.modlivin.com. Tonight's lecture opener features designers Ryan Withers, Lisa Townley, Spencer Clark, Franklin Crosby and Michael McDowell, with others to come in the upcoming weeks.

Mod Livin' is at 5327 E. Colfax Avenue. Get details at 303-941-9292.

For more ways to rock the night and kill the day, go to westword.com/calendar.

State of Colorado

Yummy!

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Happy Birthday Colorado. You are 133, and frankly, you are looking a little worse for wear. But that's okay because we're celebrating you anyway on Colorado Day.

Although Colorado officially became a state on August 1, 1876, it technically honors that day on the first Monday of every August. This year, Governor Bill Ritter has made it free for anyone to visit a state park today -- which might be worth doing considering the fact that Ritter's administration, faced with a massive budget crunch, is thinking about closing one or more of the parks or charging higher entrance fees to the others.

But Ritter has also asked Coloradoans today to submit suggestions for their favorite historic landmarks by August 16, on the way to compiling a list of 133. To get the discussion going, he's provided a list of 66, including the Colorado State Capitol, which offers tours of its gold-plated and gold-pated dome.

It's been three years since Fancy Tiger came to town, changing the face of SoBo in its wake: A perfect fit with existing businesses near the corner of Ellsworth Avenue and Broadway, the groundbreaking DIY craft shop/hipster clothing emporium that later split into two stores on the same block has flourished, and we're all the better for it. It's our go-to place for funky fabrics and patterns, both as raw materials and, at the boutique, wearables, as well as a meeting place where do-it-yourselfers can take classes or knit, craft and chat during weekly community nights. And Fancy Tiger is a vocal cheerleader for local designers and crafters, whom it showcases at monthly trunk shows.

To celebrate three great years, owners Jaime Jennings and Matthew Brown are opening the doors of both stores, at 1 S. Broadway and 14 S. Broadway, for a party from 7 to 10 p.m., with merchandise giveaways, bites from Gaia and suds courtesy of Great Divide. Be there or be square: Visit the website or call 720-224-6147 for details.

For more ways to rock the night and kill the day, go to westword.com/calendar.

Now that I feel sufficiently bad about myself, I figure I'll share the self-loathing: Last night was the second installment of the Riverfront Park Fashion Series, in which a bunch of really skinny people get together and, judging from Aaron Thackeray's pictures, snicker at me and my extra ten pounds. See for yourself at westword.com/slideshow.

Our favorite lingerie ads? Each year, the ritzy SOL... Store of Lingerie in Cherry Creek North surely wins that title, bare-handed, for plastering billboards and the store's windows (and the Post's business section) with sexy images of the latest SOL girl, all decked out in little more than something frilly and easy on the eyes. But what happens to all that monumental pin-up footage once the promotion is over?

Find out today when SOL kicks off its summer sidewalk sale, in accordance with other businesses in the neighborhood. In addition to offering sweet deals on lacy little things, the store will be offering attractive tote bags -- created locally from the recycled billboard material that comprised its last SOL girl campaign -- free to the first 25 customers who spend $250 or more during the sale. In the future, SOL will continue to turn out and sell limited-edition bags as each SOL girl ad is retired. Plus, when you shop for bargains this week, you'll get a sneak peek at the newest campaign, featuring a road-trip theme with a beautiful near-naked hitchhiker. Ooh-la-la.

SOL is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 248 Detroit Street. Check the website or call 1-800-466-1356 to learn more.

For more ways to rock the night and kill the day, go to westword.com/calendar.

We went blog picking. These, as always, are the fruits of our labor. If we left something delicious hanging on the branch, drop it in our basket. My god, this metaphor is tired.

Will the Birdman fly the coop? Here's hoping no. (Pickaxe and Roll)

Independence Day: A lovely day for a tea party -- and to announce a run for governor? (Colorado Pols)

A new clothing line, Denver-born, is described as "Street meets West then makes eco-conscious love." Although I call it "Burberry goes paintballing." (Denver Egotist)

Charles Deaton's masterpiece. Photo courtesy the Kentwood Company.

Nobody and no property, it seems, are immune from the housing crisis. According to this report in the Denver Business Journal, one of Colorado's most distinctive residences was headed for foreclosure this spring, and then it wasn't.

Built in the 1960s by the late, visionary architect Charles Deaton for his own family, the Sculptured House on Genesee Mountain has been a source of wonder and speculation for motorists heading up I-70 from Denver for generations. Featured in Woody Allen's 1973 movie Sleeper and inevitably linked to futurism and UFOs, it's often referred to as "the Sleeper house" or the "flying-saucer house" -- although its designer had something quite different in mind.

"I wasn't trying to be streamlined or futuristic," he told Westword in 1991. "I was going to do a piece of sculpture for its own sake. It became long and low and flat because of the internal planning, and also to be part of the mesa. I like to think that it grew here, like a very friendly, cooperative mushroom."

Deaton never occupied the home, which was purchased by software tycoon John Huggins in 1999 for $1.33 million. Huggins poured in additional funds and drew on the services of the Praxis Design team of architect Nicholas Antonopoulos and designer Charlee Deaton (Charles' daughter) to complete a planned extension. The place now has 7,000 square feet of living space and a four-car garage.

In 2006 Huggins sold the place for $3.4 million to Vacation Solutions founder Michael Dunahy, whose $3.1 million mortgage on the place is currently being reworked. It remains a premiere spot for charity events and has never escaped its space-age connotations; there's even a YouTube video of the interior set to Jetsons music.

Alas, my story on Deaton predates the advent of our online archives. But for more on his intentions, read the excerpt from that article after the break: