Month: January 2024

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment
  • Vogue released its 2024 list of best Denver restaurants, which is great. One of its selections, Populist, closed in 2019, however, which is not. I expect Racines to be on next year’s list.
  • AI-generated fake photographs of a “nude” Taylor Swift spread across the internet this week. The silver lining: it may spur federal legislation making the creation and dissemination of deepfake images illegal.
  • Gov. Jared Polis claims he wants a high-speed transportation option to connect Denver and Colorado Springs, but when a motorcyclist posted a video showing him making the commute in just 20 minutes (he was, at times, traveling 180 mph), the Colorado State Patrol issued an arrest warrant.
  • CDOT has made $4 million so far from the cameras that identify drivers illegally weaving in or out of carpool lanes. I expect potholes to now be fixed faster, CDOT.
  • Speaking of CDOT, thoughts and prayers to I-70 this weekend. It is that time of year when the Aspen X Games, the Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championship and the Freestyle Competition in Vail all happen on the same weekend.
  • Tesla lost about $80 billion in market cap this week after its Q4 2023 earnings disappointed analysts. CEO Elon Musk didn’t help much when his earnings conference call was described by analysts as a “train wreck.”
  • Thefts from online payment apps such as Venmo, Cash App, PayPal and Zelle are “skyrocketing.”
  • Director Greta Gerwig and lead actress Margot Robbie – the driving forces behind the billion-dollar “Barbie” movie – did not receive Oscar nominations for their work while actor Ryan Gosling did for his portrayal of Ken. That, some say, “kind of proves the point of the movie, that the patriarchy is still with us.”
  • Denver-based VF Corp. – parent company of brands such as Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies – had personal information for 35.5 million customers stolen by cyber criminals.
  • Atomic scientists are keeping the “Doomsday Clock” at 90 seconds to midnight – as close to midnight as ever – as conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza drive the risk of global catastrophe.
  • Former WWE CEO and current board member Vince McMahon has been sued for allegedly engaging in human trafficking.
  • The L.A. Times “has been thrown into a state of mayhem as it laid off 115 positions – about 20% of its newsroom. Said one staffer, “I cannot overstate the level of chaos.”
  • Speaking of layoffs, those in the tech industry continue. This week, eBay announced plans to lay off 1,000 employees, SAP 8,000 employees, and Microsoft, 1,900 employees. Those cuts follow recent ones from Amazon, Google, Twitch and Audible and TikTok.
  • The CEO of Kyte Baby, a manufacturer of infant clothing, has now had to apologize twice for refusing to allow an employee to work remotely from a NICU where the employee’s newborn was being treated. The first apology was immediately shouted down for being robotic and insincere.
  • The CEOs of Alaska Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines are all expressing frustration and anger at Boeing’s ongoing quality-control problems. That’s not exactly a recipe for Boeing getting past this quickly.
  • Closing retailer H&M has removed and apologized for a school uniform ad that critics said sexualized children.
  • Beloved University of Colorado and Denver Broncos announcer Larry Zimmer passed away. He was 88.

So, who won the week?

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment
  • The Ouray County Plaindealer published a story this week about an alleged rape that took place at the home of the police chief, and mysteriously nearly all the copies of the paper were stolen from its newspaper racks throughout town. You don’t get to do that, and it was heartening to see media from across the state step up and report on the theft and the possible motivation behind it. The result was media coverage 50 times bigger than it would have been had the theft not occurred.
  • Apparently there has been an epidemic of people crashing into funny road signs that we haven’t heard about. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration issued new guidelines that ban clever or funny signs because they can be “distracting.” Among those that will be going away: Massachussets’ “Use Yah Blinkah” and Ohio’s “Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late.”
  • Former Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony, who left Denver by forcing a trade to the New York Knicks, has accused the Nuggets of being “petty” by allowing Nikola Jokic to wear the No. 15 jersey number that belonged to Anthony when he was here. Ever humble, Anthony did concede that perhaps Jokic requested the number to “pay homage” to him.
  • Regulators denied JetBlue‘s attempt to acquire Spirit Airlines, a move that many on Wall Street expect to result in Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy. It shouldn’t affect air travel in Denver, however. Spirit announced last fall that it was pulling out of DIA completely.
  • Sinclair CEO David Smith acquired the Baltimore Sun this week, and his introductory meeting with staff wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy. He started by sharing, “Full disclosure, I haven’t read the newspaper in 40 years. Literally have not read the newspaper. … I read the paper maybe four times since I started working on trying to buy this place.” He then suggested to the Pulitzer Prize-winning staff that they should follow the journalistic lead of the local Fox TV affiliate that Sinclair owns.
  • Bobi, the 31-year-old dog who has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the “oldest dog ever,” has been provisionally stripped of his title pending an investigation.
  • Drake has once again rescheduled his concert dates in Denver at the last minute. Last time it happened, his team apparently miscalculated how long it would take to drive the equipment trucks to our city. No word this time on what the issue is.
  • Elon Musk pulled a “You have a nice company here … it’d be a shame if anything happened to it” move with the board of Tesla. Musk threatened to work outside the company on Tesla-relevant technology unless it increases his ownership stake from 13% to 25%, an increase valued at $80 billion.
  • If your pastor is promoting cryptocurrency, you might want to think twice about your church.
  • The Australian Open tennis tournament is underway, and Coco Gauff is not a fan of the way the United States Tennis Association is promoting the American participants. A social media graphic portrayed them like they were members of the TV show “Rugrats.”
  • Fitness guru Richard Simmons and actor Pauly Shore are feuding, which seems like a story straight out of 1990 but is actually taking place in 2024. Simmons is not happy about an unauthorized biopic that will feature Shore as Simmons.

So, who won the week?

  • Fox31 reporter Evan Kruegel is heading to 9News.
  • Former Fox31 reporter Michael Konopasek has been named external communications manager at DIA. He most recently was the corporate communications manager at Frontier Airlines.
  • Longtime Denver Post sports columnist Mark Kiszla has joined the Denver Gazette.
  • Former KNUS task show host Steffan Tubbs has been named public affairs officer for the Drug Enforcement Administration‘s Rocky Mountain Field Division.
  • Miss Colorado, U.S. Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Madison Marsh, was crowned Miss America. She is the first active duty service member to win the title.
  • Elton John won an Emmy for his televised farewell performance at Dodger Stadium, giving him the final piece of the rare and coveted “EGOT“ – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. Fun fact – the term “EGOT” was coined in 1984 by “Miami Vice” actor Philip Michael Thomas, who said his goal was to win all four. Sad fact – Thomas has never even been nominated for any of them.
  • Today is “Sam’s Day of Stoke,” a fundraiser benefitting the Sam Aden Kindness Fund. Sam was a wonderful and loved kid, and those of us who are part of the Love/Aden family’s community are thinking about him, Laura and their entire family today.

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment
  • The Boeing 737 Max has become the Ford Pinto of jets. The aircraft faced a global grounding for 20 months starting in 2019 due to malfunctions in its flight control system, leading to two fatal crashes that claimed 346 lives. This week, it has been grounded again after a side door plug blew out mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines jet.
  • A Texas man accused of shoplifting filed a handwritten lawsuit against Walmart demanding either $100 million or “unlimited lifetime free shopping” at the store.
  • There are a lot of talented reporters in Denver, but I have never used regional Emmy award wins as a measure for who is among the best. The number of reporters, both great and average, who have more than a dozen of the things speaks to how liberally they hand them out. That belief was further confirmed this week when ESPN acknowledged submitting fake names to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) to obtain more than 30 fraudulent Emmy awards for members of its “College GameDay” show who were technically ineligible. ESPN then re-engraved the Emmys with actual names and gave them to the employees.
  • Frigid weather has caused more than 10,000 flight delays today across the country.
  • The National Association of Realtors is a bit of a dumpster fire at the moment. CEO Tracy Kasper abruptly resigned this week after allegedly receiving a blackmail threat, five months after her predecessor resigned after being accused of sexual harassment.
  • The Wall Street Journal reported concerns among leaders and board members at Tesla and SpaceX regarding alleged illegal drug use by CEO Elon Musk. The mercurial CEO responded in part with a couple of statements, including “Whatever I am doing, I should obviously keep doing it” and “If drugs actually helped improve my net productivity over time, I would definitely take them.”
  • It will be 78 degrees in Miami this weekend, but weather forecasters are predicting 0-degree weather with a negative 30-degree wind chill for Saturday’s Kansas City Chiefs–Miami Dolphins playoff game in Kansas City.
  • Some members of the Gambian national soccer team passed out mid-flight on their way to an Africa Cup of Nations tournament when the oxygen supply on their Air Cote d’Ivoire flight failed. Said the team’s coach, “I am ready to die for Gambia, but on the football pitch, not off it. I had short dreams where my life passed, I had moments where I thought I was dying.”
  • Quote of the week: “I am not trying to villainize my mom,” uttered by Denver restaurateur Frank Schultz as he attempted to villainize his mom in court regarding a lawsuit about the finances of his company, Tavern Hospitality Group. Schultz’s mom handled the company’s financial accounts.
  • Disgraced former Denver Public Schools board member Auon’tai Anderson first chose not to run for school board re-election because polls showed him with the support of only 9% of voters. Then he announced he would instead run for a state house seat. Well, it turns out those voters also recognized his name, and he has now dropped out of that race as well. And now he has founded an education nonprofit, but of course there is already an issue: 9News reported that “the nonprofit is not currently recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which would allow for tax-deductible contributions while requiring more financial transparency and conflict of interest protections.”
  • Even winners at this year’s Golden Globes weren’t aware of who is behind the awards. Many thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a now-defunct organization that had been heavily criticized over the past few years for a lack of diversity, transparency and competency. It turns out that Dick Clark Productions actually owns the Golden Globes, having acquired the brand earlier this year.

So, who won the week?

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment
  • Retail giant Target has filed suit against Xcel Energy, CenturyLink and Teleport alleging that they are responsible for the deadly Marshall Fire that destroyed the company’s location in Superior. Xcel already faces hundreds of lawsuits from homeowners, but this appears to be the first filed against CenturyLink and Teleport.
  • Alcohol deaths in Colorado have surged 60% over the past four years.
  • A firearms instructor with the Denver Sheriff’s Department has been suspended for 14 days after accidentally shooting his neighbor’s house.
  • Former “90210” star Ian Ziering fought off a group of mini-bikers (the motorcycles were mini, not the people riding them) who attacked him while driving in L.A. He was fine, but his $100,000 Mercedes suffered significant damage.
  • There were more media layoffs in 2023 than in the post-pandemic years of 2021 and 2022. Data through November 2023 alone shows that there were 20,324 job cuts in media nationally.
  • Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned, the second of three university leaders to resign following their recent bungled Congressional hearing on the schools’ responses to antisemitism. As I said when Penn‘s president resigned last month, being prepped by $1,500 per hour attorneys instead of $500 per hour PR professionals gives you answers that may work in a court of law, but not necessarily in the court of public opinion.
  • Carolina Panthers billionaire owner David Tepper has been fined $300,000 by the NFL for throwing a drink at Jacksonville Jaguars fans who were heckling him during last week’s game. The $300,000 fine for Tepper, who is worth $20 billion, is the equivalent of the average American being fined $1.77.
  • Chi cazzo credi di essere? Italians are in an uproar after their legendary pizza maker Gino Sorbillo added a pineapple pizza to his menu.
  • Two stray dogs caused $350,000 in damage to vehicles at a Houston car dealer. Security video shows the dogs jumping on vehicles, scratching off paint and forcibly removing bumpers while chasing feral cats. 
  • European supermarket chain Carrefour has dropped PepsiCo products such as Pepsi and Lay’s because of the company’s “unacceptable price increases.” The decision is part of Carrefour’s ongoing attempts to pressure some of the world’s biggest consumer goods companies to cut prices. 
  • ESPN‘s Pat McAfee quickly apologized after NFL QB Aaron Rodgers used McAfee’s show to try to settle a score with ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who has criticized Rodgers in the past. Rodgers suggested that Kimmel might be one of the celebrities who was caught up in the Jeffrey Epstein human trafficking lawsuits, a charge that Kimmel suggested could be grounds for a lawsuit. Interestingly, both ESPN and ABC are owned by Disney.
  • Cecil, a 7-year-old goldendoodle from Pittsburgh, ate $4,000 in cash that his owners had withdrawn to pay for a new fence. “You could leave a steak on the table, and he wouldn’t touch it because he’s not food motivated,” said his owner. “But apparently he is money motivated.”
  • A Florida man has filed a $100,000 lawsuit against Dunkin’ Donuts alleging that he was hurt when a toilet at one of its locations “exploded.”
  • A Peloton instructor complained that a Christopher Nolan movie was a waste of time not knowing the director was in her class.

Who won the week?

  • Alvina Vasquez of PowerMap has joined SE2 as a principal and shareholder. Vasquez and SE2 have collaborated for years on impactful campaigns to support healthy and successful communities.
  • The Denver Business Journal announced its 2024 40 Under 40 honorees, and it included Dovetail Solutions’ Emily Tiefel and the Denver Office of the Mayor‘s Jose Salas.
  • Nelson Garcia of 9News has accepted a new position at fellow TEGNA station KARE 11 (NBC) in Minneapolis.
  • Former Denver7 anchor Anne Trujillo has been named to the Board of Trustees of Adams State University. 
  • At 8-8, the Denver Broncos may be a pretty average football team, but three of its players were named to the Pro Bowl – cornerback Pat Surtain II, safety Justin Simmons and rookie wide receiver and return specialist Marvin Mims Jr.
  • Japan Airlines flight attendants deplaned 367 passengers in mere minutes when one of its jets caught fire after it collided with another plane on a Tokyo runway.