AltWeeklies Wire
Behind the Controversial Anthology of Rapnew

Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. called The Anthology of Rap "an essential contribution to our living literary tradition," while Chuck D said it "might just break the commercial trance that's had rap in a chokehold for the past several years." But it's also the hip-hop tale of AWOL fathers and fractured identities, of bitter duels and fiery smackdowns.
Can a Court Help Former GIs Find Justice at Home?new

From the man's physique and hair, Edward Lynch figured he might be military. Maybe from Fort Carson, the Army base down the road that lately seemed to be churning out a lot of veterans with screws loose. The papers were full of stories about Carson vets killing fellow soldiers.
Colorful Plastic's Answer to 'World of Warcraft' Is the Brainchild of NetDevilnew

Spencer and Braxton Jones have to get off this spaceship. It's teetering on the brink of a black hole. The only way out is via the ship's escape rockets, but there's a catch: The rockets' components are scattered all about the spaceship, in the form of little plastic blocks.
Westword |
Joel Warner |
01-11-2010 |
Video Games
There's a Water War on the Colorado-Wyoming Bordernew
Along the Green River in Wyoming, cities and towns are massing to fight a proposal that would pump up to 250,000 acre-feet of water per year from their river to thirsty cities and towns in Colorado. The focus of the uproar is a relatively unknown Fort Collins entrepreneur named Aaron Million, who came up with the plan to bring the much-needed water to Colorado.
Westword |
Joel Warner |
11-30-2009 |
Environment
Ganjapreneurs Are Cashing in on Colorado's Booming Medical Pot Businessnew

To meet an increased demand, at least seventy new Colorado dispensaries have opened, forty in the metro area alone. Many of these are operated by what insiders are calling a "second wave" of ganjapreneurs -- savvy, experienced businesspeople and professionals.
Colorado's Parkour Pioneers Are Running With Itnew

Thanks to a concrete fountain in Skyline Park and other celebrated parkour hot spots like Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the University of Colorado at Boulder campus, Colorado has become a destination for the parkour community across the country and beyond.
Denver's Urban Gardeners Are Digging Their Backyard Farmsnew
There's a lot of learning to do when it comes to backyard farming, and it's something more and more people are learning to do.
Tags: Urban Gardening
Going Green Means Taking Down the King of Coalnew

The general manager of Colorado's largest electricity cooperative believes that coal will keep electric bills cheap. But with cheap and easily accessible coal getting harder to come by and politicians considering a hefty carbon tax on fossil fuels, critics say a new coal plant could end up being a multimillion-dollar liability.
Westword |
Joel Warner |
04-27-2009 |
Environment
The Astounding Adventures of Colorado's Own Superheronew
To the Wall Creeper, it seems that with each passing moment the world is getting worse, the shadows deepening, the hands ticking closer to midnight. That's why he's taking a stand, hopefully before it's too late.
Medical Marijuana Has Become a Growth Industry in Coloradonew

Medical marijuana sales in Colorado have proved lucrative. Michael Lee insists, however, that his current occupation is more than a business.
Westword |
Joel Warner |
02-10-2009 |
Business & Labor
The Gundersons Get Us Ready for Basil, the Robot of Our Dreamsnew
The Gundersons claim to have possibly solved one of the most challenging problems in robotics, and just a few weeks ago, they published an entire book, Robots, Reasoning and Reification, about it.
The Snowboard Bandits Lived for Excitement, but the FBI Got the Final Thrillnew
Over three months, the Bandits hit eleven banks in Colorado, leaving in their wake empty cash drawers, dazed tellers and surveillance films filled with curiously chic and frustratingly concealing get-ups. The case was quickly handed over to an outfit more likely than any other to catch the Snowboard Bandits: the FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force.
Westword |
Joel Warner |
11-25-2008 |
Crime & Justice
A Denver Scientist Helps Second Life Go Nuclearnew
SciLands' creators hope to give science education and advocacy a shot in the arm by invading the world of video games and internet obsessions that have wreaked havoc on museum attendance rates and homework assignments. Who knows? It may even work.