Who Had the Worst Week?

• A federal trial that would have explored allegations of bid rigging at DIA sadly won’t take place after the parties reached a confidential settlement just as prospective jurors arrived at the courthouse. DIA Brewing, a company affiliated with Wynkoop Brewing and the Cherry Cricket, had sued Midfield Concession Enterprises alleging it had bribed DIA’s former chief revenue officer to rig bids in its favor.
• In the 1980s and 1990s, the Tattered Cover bookstore was among Denver‘s most notable local retailers. And then online booksellers started to crush brick-and-mortar stores. The Tattered Cover held on better than most, but it finally filed for bankruptcy this week. It will close three of its seven locations, and eliminate 27 of its 103 jobs.
• Britney Spears‘ new tell-all autobiography is coming out, and some of the revelations – that he pressured her to have an abortion and that he broke up with her via text – have former boyfriend Justin Timberlake and his good-guy image playing defense.
• X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is trialing a $1 per year fee that is says will help eliminate bots from the site. If expanded, that will test the resolve of many users who are committed to not paying Elon Musk even a penny.
• Americans‘ trust in media remained near record lows in the annual Gallup poll. About 34% said they trust mass media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” which is just two points higher than the lowest percentage Gallup has ever recorded, which was during the 2016 presidential campaign.
• Now that the Hollywood writers’ strike is over, some of them should look to Granby Ranch for inspiration for the next great TV drama. The latest development in the area’s years-long saga is that Marise Cipriana, the Boulder owner of the development, has been accused by her sister of being a diamond smuggler.
• “Saturday Night Live” resumed after the writer’s strike ended, and that wasn’t great news for University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.
• An Australian man had to fight a kangaroo that was trying to drown his dog. The man said the unusually muscle-bound kangaroo looked like he “just got out of jail or something.”
• Wyatt’s Towing, the company everyone loves to hate, is facing new allegations of corruption and fraud.
• New Mexico prosecutors are trying again to charge actor Alec Baldwin for the accidental shooting death of a cinematographer on the set of his movie “Rust.”
• Thousands of Venezuelans have donated their hair to help soak up oil slicks that are common on Lake Maracaibo. The hair is placed in large collection nets that scientists at NASA have determined actually work.

So, who won the week?

• We lost our friend Steve Sander this week. There will be a celebration of his life this Sunday from 11:30 am to 2 pm at the Greek Amphitheater at Civic Center Park.
• Reporter Hannah Metzger has joined Westword as a staff writer. She previously was at the Denver Gazette/ColoradoPolitics.com.
• Mikayla Ortega, formerly of Denver7 and the Denver Office of Emergency Management, has accepted the position of Communications and Marketing manager at the Denver Clerk & Recorder’s Office.
• For the first time in its history, the Colorado School of Mines‘ football team is ranked No. 1 in the country. The team plays in Division II.
• Chris LaPlaca, the head of global communications at ESPN, is retiring after a 43-year career with the network.
• Taylor Swift‘s cut of the opening weekend box office of her “Eras Tour” movie was $55 million.