Providence Moves

Fifteen years in the computer industry, with its Dilbertesque we-are-family-and-you-are-important-to-us pep rallies, never engendered in me the feeling that my work mattered like selling a few pounds of vegetables did. People need to eat. People do not need software. For the first time in my life, I was engaged in meaningful work, meaningful as an end, not simply as a means to a paycheck.

• by Rob Gordon

Neighborhood mixed on shelter plan

Many residents of a low-income neighborhood just south of downtown say theyre willing to accept a one-stop homeless mall at the western edge of their community. But they remain worried that other plans linked to the shelter proposal could ruin their quiet, working-class neighborhood.

• by Malcolm Howard

Steel workers charge continued stonewalling

More than two years into a bitter labor dispute over issues of pay, benefits, safety and forced overtime at Pueblos Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, union workers are claiming that management is continuing to stonewall any permanent resolution to the disputes.

• by Bob Campbell

Steve Smith's legacy

News of Steven Smiths immediate departure from Colorado Springs daily newspaper after four years heading up a much-touted experiment he called civic journalism was so loaded with PR spin that one has to wonder if the G has gone into the public relations business after all.

Time Tripping into the New Millennium

One of the consequences of rapid growth is a kind of communal amnesia. The Colorado Springs of 1900 is gone, as is the Colorado Springs of 1950, and even of 1980. Twenty years hence, we'll probably look back wistfully at those halcyon days of 2000. So let the dead bury their dead; it's time to make a few contrarian predictions for the year to come.

• by John Hazlehurst

IQ: Mmmm, mmmm, organic

Every week, the Independent takes to the streets, in search of your opinion on the latest, breaking news.

• by Bob Campbell

We the Watchdogs

When I started writing about technology four years ago, I initially had the same reaction to the burgeoning industry that many high-tech journalists spew every week: "Wow." But my approach has shifted: Im no longer a rah-tech columnist; now Im a tech critic.

• by Donna Ladd

Linda Harroun

A conversation with Linda Harroun, Executive Director of First Visitor Warm Welcome, a non-profit, volunteer-based program within El Paso County that visits and assists new families.

• by Suzanne Becker

Down Imagination's Darkest Path

Rikki Ducornets novel, "The Fan-Makers Inquisition," revisits the revolutionary contributions of the Marquis de Sade.

• by John Broening

A Conversation with Rikki Ducornet

Rikki Ducornet draws me out about my life, applauds a literary reference spotted, and as an interviewee, gives the flattering impression that her answers are not preformulated, but are stimulated by my own brilliant questions.

• by John Broening

Great Idea Yields Mixed Results

Never trust anything that proclaims it is the best. In the case of "The Best American Recipes 1999," a beautifully produced anthology of recipes culled from books, magazines, newspapers and the Internet by two widely experienced food writers and editors, that piece of advice would be well taken.

• by Kathryn Eastburn

Grilled Mice for the Grizzled Explorer

Grilled Mice for the Grizzled Explorer a review of "Gorp, Glop & Glue Stew: Favorite Foods From 165 Outdoor Experts"

• by Kristen Sherwood

Playing Around: Jason Riggs

This week we highlight Jason Riggs, a troubadour whose travels take him to the Starbucks on North Academy this Friday.

• by Kristen Sherwood

Favorites of '99

I want to raise a glass to movies that surprised me, that made me sit up and listen, that left me wide-eyed when the credits rolled. In the past year, I experienced genuine wonder at the movies more times than I can remember, and came away less depressed about the state of the most popular and accessible art than in years past. So here's to 1999, or at least what I've seen of it so far.

• by Kathryn Eastburn

Moments of Sanity

A conversation with the relentlessly self-analytical singer-songwriter David Wilcox, who will be performing at the Fine Arts Center this Friday.

• by Owen Perkins

Theater: A Toast to the 20th Century

With only three plays to his credit as a playwright, Steve Martins appeal on a theater marquee remains a testament to his fame as a comedian, screenwriter, and actor. In time, however, Martin may be as respected for his work in the theater as he is in any other capacity.

• by Owen Perkins

Dead Fathers Club

There is a recent generation of novelists raised more on television and film than literature, their muse more John Waters than Frank Waters. Jerry Stahl, with "Perv," his first novel, reveals himself to be one such writer.

• by Michael Salkind

Event Listings

If there's something going on, we've got it listed here.

• by Tess Powers

Seven Days

What's happenin' this week in the big city -- highlights from our listings.

• by Kristen Sherwood