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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

Meet the Man Trying to Broker Deal to Buy Denver Post From Hedge Fund

By Michael Roberts

The latest round of layoffs at the Denver Post prompted a mutiny of sorts at the paper, with editorial page editor Chuck Plunkett masterminding a package of attacks on Alden Global Capital, its “vulture” hedge fund owner. Plunkett and company want someone to purchase the Post and invest in its future rather than simply watching it die in slow motion, and Colorado Springs publisher John Weiss would like to help by putting together a group of investors to do just that.

Treasurer Walker Stapleton on Why He Should Be Colorado’s Next Governor

By Michael Roberts

Second-term state treasurer Walker Stapleton says one of the main reasons he’s running for governor of Colorado in 2018 is because he believes the state is at a crossroads, and if the wrong policies are put in place, the current economic boom may prove short-lived. He explains why and offers what he sees as solutions in the following in-depth interview.

Why Minimum Wage Could Go Up More in Some Colorado Towns Than Others

By Michael Roberts

In 2016, Colorado voters passed Amendment 70, which established an incremental increase in the state’s minimum wage culminating in a $12-per-hour rate by 2020. But a proposal just introduced in the Colorado general assembly has the potential of giving that amount an additional boost in some locations. The legislation, accessible below, would empower towns, cities or counties in Colorado to set their own minimum wage based on how expensive it is to make ends meet there.

How Long Colorado Teen Shooting Death Count Took to Match Parkland’s

By Michael Roberts

Nearly two months after the tragic February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the debate over the proliferation of guns in the U.S. continues to rage. But while mass casualty events grab the headlines, individual incidents of gun violence, many of which attract little attention, result in fatality figures that are just as shocking. A disturbing example: Since last July, the same number of teenagers have been shot to death in Colorado as were slain at MSDHS.

Kratom Recall in Colorado Could Lead to More Product Seizures

By Michael Roberts

Hot on the heels of a groundbreaking lawsuit over Salmonella-tainted kratom that targeted a Colorado Springs store, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has announced the recall of assorted products made from the popular but controversial pain-relieving herb. But while the ostensible reason for the recall involves the fear of Salmonella contamination, the CDPHE acknowledges that no illnesses have been reported in connection with the lot numbers in question, and the Food and Drug Administration statement highlighted in its news release focuses on the dangers of kratom in general, suggesting the possibility that broader seizures of the product might be in the offing.

Kratom Lawsuit Over Salmonella Targets Colorado Store

By Michael Roberts

What is being touted as the first lawsuit over kratom tainted with Salmonella, the subject of a nationwide health warning issued in February by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration, targets Soap Korner, a store in Colorado Springs. The suit, accessible below, maintains that plaintiff Ashley Lemke, who lives in North Dakota, was hospitalized after consuming kratom products ordered from Soap Korner’s website that later tested positive for Salmonella.

Metro Denver Rent Increases Are Back With a Vengeance

By Michael Roberts

As of late last year, rent prices finally seemed to be moderating in Denver and its neighboring burgs following a long period in which rental costs continued to go up and up and up in the Mile High City’s red-hot housing market. But the latest data suggests that bargain hunters’ hopes have been squashed again, with rents across the metro area again heading upward, with many of the places analyzed notching double-digit bumps over this time in 2017.

New Questions About Deal Stopping Accuser From Suing Denver Mayor

By Michael Roberts

Attorney Anne Sulton says she’s calling for a review of all lawyers involved in Denver’s $75,000 settlement with Detective Leslie Branch-Wise because of concern that the cash may have been intended to pay for the latter’s services as a witness in a trial over a lawsuit filed by fired city employee (and Sulton client) Wayne McDonald that never actually took place.

CU Boulder’s Bold Plan to Neuter Student Government Hits a Bump

By Michael Roberts

For decades, the University of Colorado Boulder student government, known as CUSG, has been among the most powerful organizations of its type in the country, overseeing cost centers valued in excess of $20 million per annum. Last week, CU Boulder administrators announced their intention to strip all but a token amount of that responsibility from the group, only to temporarily back down in the face of protests by students and former CUSG members led by state senator Steve Fenberg. But Fenberg fears Chancellor Phil DiStefano and his staff plan to push through their proposal over the summer, when they have a better chance of dodging demonstrations.

Colorado Drug Overdose Deaths Top 900 Annually: Where the Crisis Is Worst

By Michael Roberts

In 2016, drugs of various types killed 912 people in Colorado, nearly 300 more than the 627 who died in auto accidents here. Moreover, preliminary numbers from 2017 suggest that the total will rise for that year to 959, fueled largely by heroin and opioid overdoses in Denver and the Colorado Springs area, each of which suffered well over 100 fatalities each the previous year, and a startling number of casualties in some of the state’s least populous areas.

Here’s the Unofficial List of People Leaving the Denver Post

By Michael Roberts

On March 14, the Denver Post announced the impending layoffs of thirty newsroom employees, or approximately one-third of the staff. Later this afternoon, the paper will issue a final list of those who’ll be leaving. But a preliminary roster assembled by the Denver Newspaper Guild and provided to Westword by Kieran Nicholson, the newsroom unit’s guild chair, suggests that the total number of people losing their jobs won’t be quite as high as previously expected.

Claim: Jacqueline Bickford’s Jailers Knew She Was Suicidal but Let Her Die

By Michael Roberts

A new lawsuit maintains that employees at the Summit County jail knew 31-year-old inmate Jacqueline Bickford was suicidal but ignored her medical needs for days prior to her death by hanging inside her cell. It’s at least the third suit this decade against Summit County over alleged institutional misconduct at the facility, with the previous two, including the in-custody death of Zackary Moffitt, resulting in big payouts.

Why Home-Price Growth in Denver May Finally Fall

By Michael Roberts

According to a new report from California-based CoreLogic, homes in the Denver area are generally overvalued, meaning the price buyers are being asked to pay is simply too high. But while that’s bad news for house hunters right now, it could result in improvements down the line in the Mile High City and beyond.

Six Examples of Fake News About Marijuana

By Michael Roberts

Last August, when veteran reporter Peter Marcus announced that he was leaving the ambitious ColoradoPolitics.com project he helped launch the previous year in favor of a communications-director position with the rapidly growing marijuana dispensary chain Terrapin Care Station, he stressed that he wasn’t leaving journalism behind and planned to start a website that would mix original stories with posts intended to counter misinformation being spewed by pot enemies. That site, TheNewsStation.com, is now live, and included among offerings that he says “promote the positive business and economic impact of the cannabis industry” is a section in which Marcus tears apart what he sees as marijuana “Fake News.” Check out six examples below.

The Fight Against Circumcision in Colorado and Beyond

By Michael Roberts

American Circumcision, a feature-length documentary about the debate over circumcision in this country that will make its Denver debut on April 9, features an appearance by Gillian Longley, state coordinator for Colorado Advocates for Body Integrity and Children’s Rights, shorthanded as Colorado ABC. Although little known by the general public, the group is the one of the main reasons why Colorado Medicaid didn’t pay for circumcisions in the state during most of this decade to date, and Longley, a nurse by training, remains dedicated to getting the message out about a procedure she sees as cruel, unneeded and sometimes dangerous.

Barry Farah on Running for Colorado Governor as a Heartfelt Conservative

By Michael Roberts

Barry Farah, a successful entrepreneur, author and speaker, is a late entrant into the 2018 Republican race for governor of Colorado. In the following in-depth interview, Farah says the exit from the contest of former Congressman Tom Tancredo and 18th Judicial District DA George Brauchler (who’s now focusing on a bid for Colorado Attorney General) left voters without a heartfelt conservative to support, and he’s eager to fill that role.

Mayor’s Office No Longer Partner in “Start by Believing” Anti-Sex Assault Drive

By Michael Roberts

A press release announcing Denver’s fourth annual Start By Believing campaign, which supports sexual assault victims, does not include any mention of Mayor Michael Hancock or his office. In contrast, Hancock’s name was front and center during the previous three years, with the mayor offering strong comments about the importance of believing victims on each of those occasions.

Attorney Targets Settlement That Stops Detective From Suing Michael Hancock

By Michael Roberts

An attorney representing Wayne McDonald, a former Hancock friend and city employee fired in 2012 for his own alleged behavior toward Branch-Wise, is now demanding a review of all lawyers who played a role in a $75,000 payment to the detective by the City of Denver over the matter. The 2013 settlement precludes Branch-Wise from suing Hancock, even though his texts to her (including one that asked her if she’d ever taken a pole-dancing class) were not known to McDonald’s legal team in 2016, when they accepted $200,000 to resolve a lawsuit filed after his firing four years earlier.