Colorado Springs Independent

UPDATE: Firefighting cost rises to $8.5 million

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:32:05 -0600

We just got confirmation from Gov. John Hickenlooper's office that $8 million was originally set aside for the Black Forest Fire in an executive order issued on Wednesday, June 12. Because the Disaster Emergency Fund was short on funds at that time, Hickenlooper ordered that $5.5 million be transferred from the state's general fund.…

Red Cross closes Black Forest shelter

Kirk Woundy — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:18:00 -0600

A week after opening it, the American Red Cross has announced closure of its shelter for Black Forest Fire victims and evacuees. Here's the release, which at the bottom also includes a look at some of what the nonprofit organization has accomplished during the early start to this fire season.…

Daytrotter debuts Mike Clark session

Bill Forman — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:56:00 -0600

Most music fans are familiar with Daytrotter, the site that hosts live-in-studio sessions by a who's who of established and emerging talents.

From its modest beginnings in 2006, Daytrotter has grown into a hyperactive American equivalent to the dearly departed Peel Sessions.…

Denver medical-marijuana owners draw 71-count indicment

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:55:00 -0600

Today, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers' office announced that a state grand jury indicted Conley Hoskins, Dallan Dirkmaat, Brenden Joyce and nine others "for defrauding investors and running an illegal medical marijuana grow operation," reads the release. "The twelve indicted individuals face 71 criminal counts related to the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA) and felony charges for tax evasion, securities fraud and money laundering."

Newly opened Ivywild School raises funds for A Joyful Noise Farm

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:40:00 -0600

A Joyful Noise Farm was one of the many evacuated during the Black Forest Fire last week. But thankfully, their story had a happier ending than many of their friends, such as the Silly Goose Farm, which burned.…

Anberlin gets a new lease on life

Chris Parker — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

The Florida alt-rockers figure out what matters most by Chris Parker When you start out rattling the basement walls with your friends, there are no expectations beyond a gig, beer, and maybe some girls. But if you're good, that can change quickly, and it's a challenge not to lose your head in the whiplash.…

Major concerts in Colorado

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Big Gigs Tony Bennett with Antonia Bennett, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, June 19 • Buckcherry, Black Sheep, June 20 • mewithoutYou, Black Sheep, June 21 • The Ultimate Thriller — The Michael Jackson Tribute, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, June 21 • Western Underground, Crystola Roadhouse, Woodland Park, June 21 • Havok, Black Sheep, June 22 • O.A.R., Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, June 22 • Ghost Town, Black Sheep, June 25 • Roy Rogers Jr. and the Diamond W. Wranglers, Gold Bar Room Theater at Imperial Hotel, Cripple Creek, June 25-27 • Anberlin, Black Sheep, June 26 • D-WHY, Black Sheep, June 27 • TROOP, Stargazers Theatre and Event Center, June 27 • Josh Turner, Pikes Peak Center, June 27 • Krizz Kaliko, Black Sheep, June 30 • Stick Figure/Passafire, Black Sheep, July 2 • Drums Along the Rockies, Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, July 6 • The Uncluded (Aesop Rock & Kimya Dawson), Black Sheep, July 6 • Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Mastodon, Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre, Englewood, July 7 • Barry Manilow, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, July 11 • David Byrne & St. Vincent, Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, Denver, July 13 • Brandi Carlile, Blind Pilot, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, July 13 • Arlo Guthrie with The Trishas, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, July 14 • Matchbox Twenty/Goo Goo Dolls, Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre, Englewood, July 15…

Get to know Jacques Brel, the Sinatra of France, via the FAC

Bret Wright — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Crooner Theater by Bret Wright OK, Jacques Brel isn't alive or in Paris. And unless you believe in a great beyond, you can't say he's well, either.…

A drive into the Black Forest burn site

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Horse trailers, vehicles, fences — all gray. The ground, a mass of talcum-powdery ash in hues of white, gray and black. by Pam Zubeck As I and other media members rode into the still-burning Black Forest area last Thursday, it was like we suddenly switched channels from a Technicolor movie of blue skies and green firs to a black-and-white film noir, where trees resembled matchsticks and everything was covered in various shades of ash. Horse trailers, vehicles, fences — all gray.…

Johnny Smith's last bow

Bill Forman — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

The guitar legend is remembered by his fellow musicians by Bill Forman Smith would leave a club at 4 a.m. and show up for a New York Philharmonic rehearsal five hours later. On June 11, just two weeks shy of what would have been his 91st birthday, the much-venerated guitarist Johnny Smith passed away, leaving behind a musical legacy that continues to stand the test of time.…

Line of fire

Bill Forman — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Local musicians find solace among the ashes by Bill Forman Hours before the Black Forest Fire began, local musician Jason Miller posted a quote from the Tao Te Ching to his Facebook page. "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes," it read.…

World War Z fails humanity

MaryAnn Johanson — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Z is so flat it's scary. by MaryAnn Johanson Bloated on its own reportedly $400 million budget and logy with an odd inertia for a globe-trotting tale, World War Z is the most flavorless sort of blah that Hollywood regularly vomits out. Z cannot decide if it's a horror movie — albeit one with the squeamishness dictated by a need to recoup those outrageous production costs by trying to draw in younger teens — or a medical thriller, one that knocks off the only "character" who's a doctor or researcher almost as soon as he's introduced.…

Seven days

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

19 Wednesday the right stuff…

Quartet, Knife Fight, As Luck Would Have It

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Cinefiles Knife Fight (R) IFC Films…

'Cloud City' does art the way Green Box does GMF: onward and upward

Edie Adelstein — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Head in the clouds by Edie Adelstein The one thing that may best illustrate what kind of operation the Green Box Arts Festival is, happens to be rather uninteresting on the surface. It's how long the main exhibit, the installation "Cloud City," will be on display.…

A history of Colorado Springs' secret tourism proposal

John Hazlehurst — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

The administration quietly asked for a $75,000 supplementary appropriation from City Council a few months ago to examine applying for RTA funding. Since then, silence. by John Hazlehurst The best service I can provide to our community, as mayor, is to deliver a trustworthy, reliable and transparent government. — Mayor Steve Bach, June 2011…

Help victims of the Black Forest Fire here

Edie Adelstein — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Ways to give by Edie Adelstein This week, opportunities abound for helping Black Forest Fire victims. You can visit the Colorado Black Forest Fire 2013 and Black Forest Benefit Facebook pages to find volunteer opportunities, or email bffvolunteer@elpasoco.com to have El Paso County connect you with help organizations.…

Bhan Thai, Kairos and Elysian Brewing

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Dine & Dash by Matthew Schniper Elysian Brewing 1221 E. Pike St., Seattle, Wash., elysianbrewing.com…

Laura Marling, the Invisible Hands, Marshall Chapman

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Sound Advice Laura Marling Once I Was an Eagle…

Cancelling vs. carrying on

Ralph Routon — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

I asked a few prominent local people, including one who lost her home last year in the Waldo Canyon Fire, how they feel. by Ralph Routon As the Black Forest Fire began winding down late last week, but that dreaded daily revision of destroyed houses kept growing and growing, we saw a full spectrum of responses in dealing with it. We saw the annual Springs Spree come off as planned.…

How firefighters applied Waldo Canyon Fire lessons to the Black Forest tragedy

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Blazing fast by Pam Zubeck A year ago, local, state and federal firefighting forces were slammed with what would become, to that point, the most destructive fire in state history. On its fourth day, the Waldo Canyon Fire blew into Colorado Springs, claiming 347 homes and two lives.…

Repeat nightmare

Kendall Kullman — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

The Black Forest Fire reminds us too soon of the risks we take living in a natural, rugged, forested area. by Kendall Kullman The Black Forest Fire reminds us too soon of the risks we take living in a natural, rugged, forested area. It brings back memories of the Waldo Canyon Fire and leaves us wondering what lies ahead.…

Joss Whedon hosts a brilliant update of Much Ado About Nothing

MaryAnn Johanson — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

It is a pure, unalloyed, rollicking cinematic joy. by MaryAnn Johanson Forsooth, this is a pretty play! And "play" it truly is. You don't realize how infrequently it's obvious on-screen that everyone is having fun doing what they do, until you see it as plain as day.…

Parquet Courts: Post-punk for now people

L. Kent Wolgamott — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by L. Kent Wolgamott Ask Austin Brown who Parquet Courts listened to when putting together its taut, twitchy punk rock, and he gives a nonchalant response. "It's all the usual suspects, all the great records that everyone seems to like," says the guitarist.…

Bar and club gigs in the region

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Playing Around Venue directory Adam's Mountain Café, 934 Manitou Ave., #102, Manitou Springs, 685-1430…