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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

Unjust Firings for Colorado Marijuana Users: Inside a New Fix

By Michael Roberts

Even though Coloradans voted to legalize medical marijuana use in 2000 and recreational pot sales in 2012, employers in the state can still legally sack workers who score positive for cannabis on drug tests. But the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws’ local branch is trying to change that. Denver NORML executive director Jordan Person says the organization is currently looking for Colorado legislators to sponsor a bill that would prevent businesses from, in her words, “firing people on Wednesday for performing a lawful activity on Saturday.”

Colorado’s Won More 2018 Winter Olympic Medals Than 81 Countries

By Michael Roberts

Last night, Arielle Gold, who we introduced you to in our post about Colorado women taking part in the 2018 Winter Olympics at Pyeongchang, South Korea, earned a bronze medal in snowboarding, sharing the podium with gold medalist/instant superstar Chloe Kim. She’s the second Coloradan to medal in the games thus far, following Red Gerard, highlighted in our Colorado men at the 2018 Winter Olympics roundup, who took the gold in snowboard slopestyle. At this writing, if Colorado was a country, it would have won more medals than 81 of 93 countries, territories or entities taking part in the competition.

The Fan’s D-Mac Rips Fox31’s Jeremy Hubbard in DIA Train Contest Rant

By Michael Roberts

As our Patricia Calhoun has reported, the search for new voices to announce stops on the Denver International Airport trains has turned into a highly unusual and kinda awkward contest in which travelers and other interested parties can vote for their favorites among five women and five men in local media. But last night, one prominent personality not on the finals list made himself heard loud and clear. During his regular afternoon-drive show on 104.3 The Fan, Darren “D-Mac” McKee, a recent Westword profile subject, went off on a hilarious rant about his exclusion and the continued participation of Fox31 anchor Jeremy Hubbard, whose voice, he believes, isn’t nearly as memorable as his hair.

Denver Slapped for Trying to Destroy Kratom From Store Targeted Under Ban

By Michael Roberts

Around noon on November 20, 2017, mere hours after Denver Environmental Health announced a ban on the sale of kratom for human consumption in the city, DEH representatives stormed into the 5800 East Colfax Avenue branch of Myxed Up Creations, which had been selling the popular herbal pain reliever, and ordered stock valued in the thousands of dollars to be destroyed on the spot. Michael Gross, the shop’s attorney, who likened the action to “a commando raid,” managed to prevent the supply from being trashed, and now the agency’s own board is allowing the kratom in question to be transferred to Myxed Up’s sister stores outside the city limits after criticizing the way the matter was handled. But as many as fourteen other businesses in Denver weren’t so lucky.

8 Suspects, 3 Cops Killed in 42 Days During 14 CO Officer-Involved Shootings

By Michael Roberts

Counting the New Year’s Eve gun battle that killed Douglas County Deputy Zackari Parrish, there have been fourteen officer-involved shootings along Colorado’s Front Range over a span of 42 days. This total includes a traffic stop on Saturday, February 10 in Aurora during which an adult male was killed by a member or members of the Aurora Police Department — the fifth OIS in less than a week. During these incidents, eight suspects and three officers have been killed and at least eleven injuries took place involving law enforcers and others.

Why Facebook Still Hates Legal Marijuana Businesses

By Michael Roberts

At this writing, thirty states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of marijuana, be it recreational, medical or both, with Colorado having been in the latter category for more than four years. Nonetheless, Facebook and Instagram continue to make it difficult for cannabis businesses to advertise and promote themselves on the platforms. The scenario causes frustration within the industry even as it forces marketers to come up with clever ways to get around restrictions.

Grief Over Skiing Death Compounded by Organ, Tissue Donation Failure

By Michael Roberts

Just over two years after Jason “Jay” Taylor died during a skiing accident at Keystone, his mother, Lynda Weston Taylor, continues to raise awareness about ski area safety. But she’s also speaking out about an issue that compounded the grief she felt after Jay’s passing. Neither his organs nor his tissues were harvested after he died even though he’d formally designated himself an organ donor on his driver’s license.

Meet the Twenty Colorado Men in the 2018 Winter Olympics

By Michael Roberts

The opening ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics got under way today, Friday, February 9, in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Colorado is definitely present and accounted for. As we noted in a previous post, eleven women members of the U.S. Olympics team currently live in the state, with many of them having been born here. And Colorado men are even more heavily represented. Twenty have ties to our fair state. Meet all of them here.

Coloradan Who Mailed Marijuana Gets Year in Prison: Sign of New Crackdown?

By Michael Roberts

Last month, we looked into a question posed in the post “Mailing Marijuana Out of Colorado: Are Your Odds of Getting Caught Going Up?” The answer is not yet in, but there’s new evidence that arrestees may be treated severely under the Justice Department of pot hating attorney general Jeff Sessions: Arvada’s Mark Koenig has been sentenced to just over a year in federal prison for the offense.

Nancy Pelosi Lauds Colorado DREAMer Marco Dorado in Epic House Speech

By Michael Roberts

Yesterday, U.S. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi spoke for eight consecutive hours on the chamber’s floor about the need for immigration reform, with a particular focus on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an endangered program that grants temporary but renewable legal status to those born outside the United States and brought here without documentation as children. Among the DACA recipients she lauded was Denver’s Marco Dorado, whose inspirational story was first told in this space circa March 2017. See the video below.

Claim: Colorado Tried to Hide Guard Who Made Muslim Inmate Shave Beard

By Michael Roberts

The defendant in a lawsuit filed by a Muslim inmate in Colorado who was made to shave off his beard in violation of his constitutional right to wear one is referred to as John Doe for an unusual reason. According to the lawyer in the case, the Colorado Department of Corrections has refused to identify the employee who gave the order.

Meet the Eleven Colorado Women in the 2018 Winter Olympics

By Michael Roberts

The 2018 Winter Olympics get underway on Friday, February 9, in PyeongChang, South Korea, and to put it mildly, Colorado sportswomen will be very well represented. Eleven members of the U.S. Olympics team currently live in the state, and many of them were born here. Moreover, this group includes Lindsey Vonn, among the biggest names on the squad, and Mikaela Shiffrin, who’s already a superstar of her sport but seems ready to take her fame to the next level. Meet all of them here.

Adam Lee’s Widow Launches Web Attack on Ski Area Where He Died

By Michael Roberts

Late last year, as we’ve reported, Loveland Ski Area employee Adam Lee was killed while working on the Magic Carpet, a conveyor belt-type lift for beginning skiers. A report about the accident issued by the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board revealed that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the lift, which didn’t stop until its mechanism crushed Lee to death, but leaves unanswered questions about why he was working beneath it for more than an hour. Now, Erika Lee, Adam’s widow, has created a website that castigates the resort even as it reveals the pain she’s feeling after losing her husband in such a tragic way.

Eric’s Law Author: We Care More About Saving Dogs Than Letting People Die

By Michael Roberts

In recent days, as we’ve reported, the Fremont County coroner’s office identified human remains found on the Arkansas River in July 2017 as Eric Ashby, a rafter who vanished while searching for New Mexico author Forrest Fenn’s $2 million treasure the previous month. Ashby is the namesake of Eric’s Law, a piece of legislation that would require individuals to tell authorities when they witness someone in life-threatening situations, as four people believed to have been with him at the time he went missing apparently didn’t do. But while bill sponsor Representative Jim Wilson, whose district includes Fremont County, sees the need for such a law as obvious, he acknowledges that the idea has received some serious pushback despite the tragic circumstances of Ashby’s death.

Nearly Three Heroin/Opioid Overdoses Per Day in Denver During 2017

By Michael Roberts

As we’ve reported, heroin deaths in Denver rose 933 percent over a fourteen-year span beginning in 2002, with at least 31 people dying from overdoses of the substance in 2016. Final numbers for 2017 heroin deaths in Denver aren’t yet available, but new figures from assorted local agencies reveal the depth and breadth of the current opioid crisis in the city. Narcan, a nasal spray that quickly counters overdose effects from heroin and similar substances, was used by emergency personnel sent out on OD calls more than 900 times in Denver during 2017, or an average of just under three times per day. And this is only a portion of the actual total, since Narcan is now available without a prescription.

Samuel Failla, Vail Instructor, Dies While Skiing Outside Resort

By Michael Roberts

Samuel Failla was such an accomplished skier that he taught others how to enjoy the popular winter sport at Vail ski area. But when he ventured out of bounds east of the resort this week, tragedy followed. Yesterday, February 6, the 24-year-old was positively identified by the Eagle County coroner after dying during a skiing excursion in the backcountry.

“My Family Can’t Get a F*cking Break:” Montbello Reacts to Double Homicide

By Michael Roberts

The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner has identified the two victims of a double homicide in Montbello on February 3 as Byron Ware, seventeen, and Abisai Ponce Gutierrez, eighteen. As their loved ones mourn their shocking deaths, which took place on the same block where the burning body of a murder victim was dumped just eighteen months ago, members of the community are scheduled to take part in a march today, February 6, that will call to an end of violence in the fast-growing neighborhood.

Denver’s Much-Hated Slot Homes: Moratorium Against New Ones Coming

By Michael Roberts

Over the past couple of years, we’ve written about the proliferation in Denver of slot homes, two multi-unit buildings on a single lot that can be separated by a gap of only a few feet. Such structures are at the heart of Denver Cruisers founder Brad Evans’s campaign against fugly homes in the Mile High City, and one reader likened them to 1950s prison complexes. Denver city councilman Rafael Espinoza, who spoke to us in 2016 about the need for new rules related to garden court buildings, a variation on slot homes, was instrumental in the creation of a draft amendment to deal with the slot home phenomenon, and at a council committee meeting this morning, he’ll argue in favor of placing a moratorium on their construction.

Sheriff Terry Maketa May Be Off Hook in Sexy Scandal After Partial Mistrial

By Michael Roberts

Ex-El Paso County sheriff Terry Maketa may finally be off the hook in regard to a years-long scandal described in our previous coverage, on view below. Yesterday, February 5, the jury in his latest trial on corruption allegations found him not guilty of two misdemeanor charges but deadlocked on a pair of felonies. As such, the judge in the case declared a partial mistrial.

Why Denver Library’s Central Branch Shouldn’t Be Only Heroin Safe-Use Site

By Michael Roberts

For Representative Leslie Herod of Colorado House District 8, a recent tour of North America’s first supervised injection site confirmed her belief that centers like it can be an important way for Denver, and Colorado as a whole, to address the growing heroin and opioid crisis, especially given where injection drug users here have been congregating in the absence of such a facility: the Denver Library’s central branch.