Alan Prendergast

Denver

Senior Contributor at Westword

Writer, teacher, road scholar.

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Articles

One of Trump’s Most Deranged Backers Lost His Defamation Trial. He’s Declaring Victory.

3 days ago | slate.com | Alan Prendergast

Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Mike Lindell, most famous as “the MyPillow Guy” who made a small fortune marketing his sleep wares to millions of Americans, can’t stop selling. Not even during his own defamation trial, with tens of millions of dollars at stake and the sales pitch threatening his very defense.
Denver 16th Street Mall Has a New Name, Same as the Old One

1 month ago | westword.com | Alan Prendergast

On May 20, Denver officials announced the new-old name of the 16th Street Mall: 16th Street (as we predicted in the 2025 Best of Denver). Yes, the word "mall" is being dumped from this iconic, mile-long stretch of 16th Street that was once Denver's main drag, but became an urban, outdoor "mall" in October 1982. Forty-three years later, a $175 million renovation project is slated to be completed this fall, and celebrated a bit early with a bash May 31-June 1.
JonBenet Ramsey: How the Investigation Got Derailed -- and Why It Still Matters

Nov 30, 2024 | westword.com | Alan Prendergast

This story was originally published in December 2014. Bad news often comes in the night. It arrives in a whirl of dread and confusion, like a drunk trying to get into the wrong house, shattering the pre-dawn silence and bursting our dreams. When Priscilla White answered the phone at her Boulder home at six in the morning on December 26, 1996, she knew that something terrible had happened. Why else would anyone be calling so early, the day after Christmas?
Always Forward: The 10th Mountain Division Took the High Ground Eighty Years Ago

Nov 12, 2024 | westword.com | Alan Prendergast

Hays had taken command of the 10th just a few weeks earlier, right before the entire outfit shipped out to Naples, late arrivals to the stalled and seemingly endless Italian campaign against some of Hitler’s most resilient and battle-tested troops. Although they had been training for years in a special camp high in the Colorado Rockies, few members of the 10th had ever seen combat.
Five Years After Elijah McClain's Death, What's Changed About Colorado's Use of Chemical Restraint?

Aug 13, 2024 | westword.com | Alan Prendergast

On that life-changing morning — January 28, 2020, a Tuesday — Springsteen was at her home with her boyfriend, Jeremiah Axtell. An attorney and newly elected member of Lakewood’s city council, Springsteen was known for pushing growth caps and challenging well-connected development interests. She was also embroiled in a long-running dispute with the operators of a memory-care center across the street from her house over several matters, from alleged elder abuse to improper disposal of human waste.
Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime, Corruption, and the Klan

Jun 10, 2024 | audiobooks.com | Alan Prendergast

At the height of the roaring 1920s, the ex-frontier town of Denver, Colorado, emerged from the postwar boom as the future of the American city. But the slick fa├žade of progress and opportunity masked a murky stew of organized crime, elaborate swindles, and widespread government corruption. Rookie district attorney Phillip Van Cise was already making national headlines for a new brand of law enforcement.
Nowhere to Run: Inmate Targeted by Prison Gangs Settles Lawsuit for Over $1 Million

Mar 13, 2024 | westword.com | Alan Prendergast

The settlement contains no admission of wrongdoing by the Colorado Department of Corrections. But the allegations detailed in John Snorsky’s lawsuit raise questions about the agency’s willingness and ability to protect its most vulnerable inmates — including key witnesses in prison murder investigations — from the long reach of prison gangs.
Unrepentant Miami Con Man Jimmy Sabatino Finds Federal Prison Too Confining

Jan 16, 2024 | miaminewtimes.com | Alan Prendergast

They call it “The Suites.” A little joke, the kind of gallows humor you can’t avoid in a place you can’t leave. The accommodations in the Suites aren’t any more spacious than those found elsewhere in the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum — ADX for short. But they are more exclusive. The Suites consist of a special wing at the far end of everything, tucked behind H Unit, the most secure area of the highest-security prison in the country, a prison within a prison.
How a Con Man Ended Up in Solitary in Colorado Supermax Federal Prison

Jan 16, 2024 | westword.com | Alan Prendergast

They call it The Suites. A little joke, the kind of gallows humor you can’t avoid in a place you can’t leave. The accommodations in The Suites aren’t any more spacious than those found elsewhere in the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum — ADX for short. But they are more exclusive. The Suites consist of a special wing at the far end of everything, tucked behind H Unit, the most secure area of the highest-security prison in the country, a prison within a prison.
New Report Highlights Impact of Staffing Crisis in Colorado Prisons

Jan 11, 2024 | westword.com | Alan Prendergast

A new report from a justice reform group details how staffing shortages inside the Colorado Department of Corrections are causing major problems for thousands of state prisoners, ranging from reduced access to medical care and education programs to a surge in drug use, assaults, and other crimes.