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Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword‘s news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

michaelrobertscolo@gmail.com

New Bronco Pacman Jones’s Top 13 Legal Issues: “Hope You Die Tomorrow”

By Michael Roberts

Although the braintrust of your Denver Broncos insists that it seeks out footballers of high moral character, the team has experienced fifty player arrests since the year 2000, more than any other NFL franchise during that period. But cornerback and punt returner Adam “Pacman” Jones, just signed by the squad, makes other previous offenders seem like pikers by comparison, as is proven by the following list of thirteen arrests, suspensions and more over the course of the past fifteen years.

Mike Johnston Considering Run Against Cory Gardner in 2020

By Michael Roberts

Like Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne and entrepreneur Victor Mitchell, former state senator Mike Johnston qualified for the Colorado gubernatorial primary but fell short of earning a spot on the November ballot. Afterward, Lynne and Mitchell expressed frustration with the current system. But Johnston speaks with fondness about the campaign and gives every indication that he’s ready for another major race.

CU Kratom Critic: “We Don’t Know If It Works or What the Proof Is”

By Michael Roberts

Advocates for kratom tout the popular herbal substance grown mainly in Southeast Asia as great for treating chronic pain, anxiety and heroin addiction, among many other uses, and decry Denver Environmental Health’s decision to ban it for human consumption last November. But University of Colorado professor and pharmacologist Robert Valuck thinks such a prohibition makes sense even if kratom has medical value.

Meet Dianne Primavera, Jared Polis’s Lieutenant Governor Pick

By Michael Roberts

Dianne Primavera, who’s running for lieutenant governor alongside Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jared Polis, is a former state representative whose personal experiences as a cancer survivor inspired her to become one of the state’s most passionate health-care advocates. Get to know her in the following interview.

What Denver GoTopless Day Was Like This Year

By Michael Roberts

The sixth-annual Denver GoTopless Day took place on Sunday, August 26, and according to Matt Wilson, who helped organize the body-positive, equality-themed event for the fourth consecutive year, the vibe was inspiring, with the empowering aspects of the gathering dwarfing a handful of critical responses from passers-by.

How Denver Open-Access Clinic Can Save Lives of Suicidal Teens and More

By Michael Roberts

There are plenty of obstacles to treatment for children, teens and other members of lower-income families struggling with mental-health issues, not the least of which is a lack of access to professionals who can see them on a timely basis. Simply getting an appointment to see such a doctor can take weeks or longer given the chronic shortage of facilities that offer such services and the overwhelming demand on those that do. And delays in care under such circumstances can have fatal consequences.

Oral History of Denver GoTopless Day

By Michael Roberts

Denver GoTopless Day is expected to attract well over 1,000 people to its 2018 edition, which takes place downtown on Sunday, August 26. But the size of the crowd is only one indication of how the gathering has evolved, as is clear from the following Denver GoTopless Day oral history.

Victor Mitchell on Lies, Dark Money and What’s Wrong With Our Election System

By Michael Roberts

Entrepreneur and former state legislator Victor Mitchell is proud of his campaign for Colorado governor in 2018 and treasures many of his experiences prior to finishing second behind Treasurer Walker Stapleton in the June Republican primary. But several weeks later, he blasts what he characterizes as a shadowy process that rewards liars and places one obstacle after another in front of outsiders interested in shaking up the status quo.

Watts Family Killings Update and Why Colorado Crimes So Often Go National

By Michael Roberts

Right now, the arrest of Frederick’s Chris Watts for the murder of his pregnant wife Shanann Watts and their two daughters, three-year-old Celeste and four-year-old Bella, is one of the biggest stories in the country, with major cable channels regularly taking a break from their coverage of President Donald Trump’s latest tweets to go over the facts of the case known to date in forensic detail.

Supersonic Planes to Be Built in Denver and More on the Aviation Summit

By Michael Roberts

The future is now at the International Aviation Forecast Summit, where approximately 400 heavyweights in the airline industry have gathered at Denver’s downtown Hyatt Regency to discuss the trends travelers will be experiencing a few years from now. The event ends today, but Boyd International Group namesake Mike Boyd, the man behind the 23rd annual assemblage, offers insights about some of the changes headed our way, including the rise of supersonic aircraft from a company based in the Mile High City.

Claim: Jail Nearly Let Inmate Jeremy Laintz Die to Prove He Was Faking Illness

By Michael Roberts

A new lawsuit claims the medical staff at Pueblo County Detention Center was so sure inmate Jeremy Laintz was faking an illness, despite plentiful evidence to the contrary, that they nearly let him die. And while he lived through his ordeal after he was placed in a medically induced coma and choppered from Pueblo to Denver, he lost part of a lung, six toes and suffered other debilitating injuries that could have been prevented if he’d simply been given antibiotics a week or two earlier.

Where in Metro Denver One-Bedroom Rent Is Up the Least

By Michael Roberts

New data shows that median one-bedroom rents have actually gone down by a small amount in a handful of metro Denver communities on a month-to-month basis. But it’s a different story compared to this time last year. In twelve cities examined, rent costs are up in every one by this metric, half of them by double digits.

Twitter: Paxton Lynch Is Terrible and Broncos Need to Cut Him Now

By Michael Roberts

How can a preseason game be meaningless and consequential at the same time? That question was answered during the Denver Broncos-Chicago Bears square-off on Saturday, August 18, thanks to quarterback Paxton Lynch and the explosion of frustration from Twitter Nation that greeted his miserable and embarrassing performance.