Colorado Springs Independent

Appeals court says no MMJ on probation

Bryce Crawford — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:01:42 -0700

Word is drifting out of Denver that on Feb. 2, the Colorado Court of Appeals overturned a previous ruling that held it was OK for those on probation to continue to partake of medical marijuana.

The case verdict, The People of the State of Colorado v. Leonard Charles Watkins, comes courtesy of an e-mail blast from Legalize 2012, one of three campaigns actively seeking to change our state's marijuana laws.…

Frack you, we want fossil fuels

Sara Michael — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:22:53 -0700

Locking gas caps were invented during the Great Depression as a preventive measure against scurrilous thieves who would siphon gasoline from unsuspecting car owners — and that was when gas was only 18 cents a gallon.

Factor in inflation, and that’s still only about $2.50 a gallon; 40 cents cheaper than I paid at the pump Monday.…

Contraception: Santorum's last stand?

Chet Hardin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:21:57 -0700

With Republicans in three states trudging to their nearest schools to hold straw votes this evening, we could be seeing do-or-die time for presidential hopeful Rick Santorum.

His poll numbers put him in a close race with Mitt Romney, who has the momentum after his wins in Florida and Nevada, yet Santorum's chances tonight are about as good as they are going to get.…

Super Tuesday with Van Halen, Die Antwoord and the Fray

Bill Forman — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:01:19 -0700

If a CD drops on a Tuesday, and there's no one around to hear it, does it really make a sound?

That's basically the question the record industry has been grappling with in the age of digital downloading.…

Bently Spang, returning the funk

Edie Adelstein — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:01:30 -0700

Bently Spang, he of the "Fighting Cheyenne" sparkly boxer jacket, gold lamé Elvis suit and dueling braids, is coming back to Colorado Springs.

Spang doesn't take himself too seriously, but his missions aim high.…

Help yourself to a movie ... with local ties

Matthew Schniper — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:28:59 -0700

Despite eye rolls and groans that tend to meet the words "self-help," highly successful books turned films like The Secret continue to prove that there's a wide market out there for being lectured at by well-intentioned people way more wholesome and fulfilled than you'll ever be (regardless of what they tell you).

Just don't follow all of them into a sweat lodge.…

It's caucus time, Republicans!

J. Adrian Stanley — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:07:12 -0700

While the enthusiasm that beckons its arrival hardly reaches the level of, say, Super Bowl Sunday, the Republican Caucus is nevertheless a big deal.

Just ask all those Republican presidential candidates.…

How to feel good about an oil change

Molly Mrazek — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:46:41 -0700

Getting an oil change is one of those things that you never want to do, but you have to do — if you want your car to continue running, that is. Aspen Auto Clinic's new offer may not completely change your outlook on getting it done, but it will make you feel a bit better while you're there.

In its "Oil Changes That Change the World" program, Aspen is helping out local nonprofits, schools and churches by offering to donate $40 for every oil change package bought in the name of that organization.…

Broadmoor hosts 'new energy' summit

Pam Zubeck — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:29:49 -0700

The Broadmoor will host the fourth annual New Energy Summit April 9-11, with a lot of big shots in the energy industry slated to appear, representing such fossil-fuel behemoths as Chevron, Halliburton and ConocoPhillips.

But there are others coming who represent the new world of energy, including members of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of Boulder and Denis Hayes, founder of Earth Day.…

MMJ meeting coming Tuesday Thursday

Bryce Crawford — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:45:22 -0700

These are fun days, as we approach the midpoint of the U.S. Attorney's Office's 45-day window for a couple dozen medical marijuana centers to close or face prosecution.

But where there's a need to share information, there's a mixer from the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council .…

Independence Institute: We're 26th (in taxes)

Chet Hardin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:31:47 -0700

Here's an interesting study from Denver's Independence Institute. The far-right advocacy organization crunched the numbers, and what it found is that Colorado ranks nearly dead-middle in tax burden per capita.…

Randy Travis out of jail in time for Pikes Peak Center show

Bill Forman — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:44:41 -0700

Everybody's got their own way of commemorating the Super Bowl. If you're me, for instance, you blast New York City's house band, Black 47, loud enough to piss off any Patriots fans within a three-block radius.…

Shins join Red Rocks fray

Bill Forman — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:03:34 -0700

Good news for all you Shins fans: James Mercer and company have joined previously announced bands Foster the People and the Fray on this summer's Red Rocks schedule.

The May 29 date was announced this morning on the Denver Post's blog, which also notes that the former Sub Pop band's Columbia debut, Port of Morrow, will be released by in March.…

REVIEW: In the Next Room, or the vibrator play

Todd Wallinger — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:32:20 -0700

When he took the reins as director of performing arts at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in June, Scott RC Levy promised to shake things up at the venerable old theater. And no play this season demonstrates his edgy sensibilities quite like In the Next Room, or the vibrator play.…

Channel 5 sports director Lee Douglas dies

Ralph Routon — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:25:44 -0700

Lee Douglas, sports director of KOAA Channel 5 and a fixture in the Colorado Springs/Pueblo media scene for the past four decades, died Sunday at 57, according to the station’s website in this report posted online.

Douglas, a 1973 graduate of Pueblo Centennial High School, had been KOAA’s sports director since 2000, but his association with Channel 5 dated to 1979.…

City suffers a loss with Bob Small's sudden passing

Ralph Routon — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:15:21 -0700

Our city is powered by many wonderful people who often work behind the scenes to make huge differences to local organizations and individuals.

Bob Small has been one of those people.

In his role as associate director of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation, Small has always made the extra effort to make the local philanthropic and nonprofit scene thrive.

And since 2003, Bob and his wife Beth have built many more friendships in a different way, as owners of The Wine Store on 523 S. Cascade Ave.

Sadly, though, all those references have to become past tense now.…

Marc Webb enters the world of online original programming

Kirsten Akens — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:42:42 -0700

Colorado College alum Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man) has a new venture — executive producing Battleground, Hulu.com's first original scripted series.

From Hulu:

By executive producers JD Walsh, Hagai Shaham ("The Details"), and Marc Webb ("The Amazing Spider-Man", "500 Days of Summer"), Battleground is a workplace dramedy set in the world of political campaigns.…
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Colorado Springs is networking with the girl next door

J. Adrian Stanley — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:47:50 -0700

Yeah, we know, we live in a global marketplace.

This piece of common wisdom is hard to overlook when our jobs are being shipped overseas, our kids are obsessed with every product that comes out of China, and Facebook's recent public stock offering was $5 billion.…

Notes from the Over the River county meetings

Edie Adelstein — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:55:32 -0700

Both sides stated their case and felt heard. Now it's out of their hands.…

We have a winner

Chet Hardin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:11:57 -0700

Late Friday afternoon breaking news:

Fixer Creative Co. has been chosen by the city's Branding Task Force to re-design the logo for Colorado Springs.

Wait, Colorado Springs is getting branded, you ask?…

UPDATE: Local Dems to host national TV talker

Chet Hardin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:02:17 -0700

We just got word from Christy LeLait, the executive director of the El Paso County Democratic Party, that Ed Schultz will not be available for the upcoming Democratic fundraiser.

LeLait forwarded us this message from Schultz:

"I have been informed by MSNBC that I cannot speak at your dinner.…
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Marijuana legalization falls short on signatures

Bryce Crawford — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:41:03 -0700

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol finally had its signatures counted by the Colorado Secretary of State, and wouldn't you know it, they're short.

"We now have 15 days to collect the 2,500 valid signatures we need and a strong group of paid and volunteer petitioners will be out in force to make it happen," says a release from the campaign.…

Group boycotting KKTV over Jeopardy!

Bryce Crawford — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:48:10 -0700

When not running a business building high-performance racing engines, Carl Hansen likes to kick back in front of the TV. And it's not news he wants — it's the syndicated game show Jeopardy!.…

UPDATE: Nancy Johnson latest to 'resign' from Bach administration

J. Adrian Stanley — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:36:01 -0700

Following the announcement of Nancy Johnson's resignation, the Indy put in a call to Mayor Steve Bach for further comments. But Chief of Staff Laura Neumann got back to us by e-mail instead, explaining "it was between Nancy and me."

Neumann forwarded a letter she had sent out to other media as a way of explanation.…

Springs scores high on racial equity for African Americans

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:47:43 -0700

MetroTrends of the Urban Institute has ranked American cities for racial equity for African Americans, and guess what, Colorado Springs is 11th out of 100 cities ranked.

Click on MetroTrends above for an interactive map.…