2 westword.com WESTWORD JANUARY 11-17, 2024 | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 5 HIGH AND DRY After a decade of legal sales, Colorado’s cannabis industry is taking a big hit. BY THOMAS MITCHELL 10 BATHROOM BREAK The Writing on the Stall takes inspiration from graffi ti musings. BY TONI TRESCA 13 THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE DOMO Gaku Homma’s restaurant is back! BY GIL ASAKAWA 17 COLLECTIVE BEATS The Making of Denver Legends is the Mile High’s newest hip-hop crew. BY JULIANNA O’CLAIR 10 Culture 13 Cafe 17 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 18 24 Marijuana TOKE OF THE TOWN ................................ 24 ASK A STONER ......................................... 26 STRAIN GANG .......................................... 28 VOLUME 47 NUMBER 20 JANUARY 11-17, 2024 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun Editorial Operations Manager Jane R. Le Culture Editor Emily Ferguson Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Cannabis Editor Thomas Mitchell Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Senior Staff Writer Chris Perez Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Bennito L. Kelty, Hannah Metzger Senior Contributors Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Amy Antonation, Teague Bohlen, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Linnea Covington, Justin Criado, John Flathman, Susan Froyd, Lizzie Goldsmith, Nick Hutchinson, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Abigail Nueve, Julianna O’Clair, Ryan Pachmayer, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman, Helen Xu Music Listings Chris Speed A R T Art Director Jay Vollmar P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Chris Arneson, Tori Bohling C R E A T I V E S E R V I C E S Senior Graphic Designer Allie Seidel A D V E R T I S I N G Account Manager Jack Baker Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke, Danelle Trujillo Multimedia Account Executives Trayl Chaffee, Nick Naglic, William Savoie, Allison Wissink Marketing and Promotions Manager Heyward Manning Event Marketing Manager Britton Sacharski House Account Manager Anna Schoening Operations Manager Maddie Miller Digital Coordinator Carver Hodgkiss Digital and Advertising Sales Manager Taylor Wheeler Advertising Director Teri Driskell C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Ty Koepke B U S I N E S S Business Manager Sarah Dunahay Financial Accountant Robert Scribner AR Coordinator Stacy Phillips IT Systems Manager Kris Robinson Receptionist Cindy Perez Associate Publisher Tracy Kontrelos Publisher Scott Tobias V O I C E M E D I A G R O U P Editorial Director Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek SEO Specialist Jenna deJong Membership Manager Lily Black Corporate Controller Beth Cook Legal Counsel Steve Suskin Chief Financial Offi cer Jeff Mars Chief Executive Offi cer Scott Tobias V M G N A T I O N A L National Advertising: 1-888-278-9866, www.voicemediagroup.com Senior Vice President of Sales Operations Joe Larkin D I S T R I B U T I O N Westword is available free of charge. 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Peri- odicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $100/year or $50/six months. Postmaster: Send address changes to Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 5970, Denver, CO 80217 Street address: 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver, CO 80203 For retail or classifi ed advertising, call: 303-296-7744 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] “HOLD YOUR HORSES!” PATRICIA CALHOUN, DECEMBER 21 N A G , N A G , N A G I am compelled to comment on the recent article about the “Mustang” sculpture at Denver International Airport. It contained a good recap of its history but failed to cor- rectly provide the legality of artist copyright details. In a nutshell, the artist always retains copyright to their creations while they are alive and even after they are deceased, as long as it has been extended by some entity. Thus, the group Abstract Denver has no grounds to stand on regarding its position on reproductions, since the Artists Rights Society has clearly protected the Estate of Luis Jimenez. The only exception to this rule is if the artist or the entity has indeed trans- ferred their rights to another entity — which has defi nitely not occurred in this situation. Perhaps the best well-known example is Disney, which is quick to squelch any type of reproduction of their designs. The response from Dave Roggeman about “celebrating it, not stealing it” — while at the same time clearly admitting to profi ting by it through the sales of shirts, posters and stickers — is just a poor defense. It is widely recognized that copying is the best form of fl attery, but not when it comes to encroach- ing upon fi nancial interests. All artists would agree with this position in order to protect their creativity. So, neigh. Chris Jones Colorado Springs I say yay! Artists should be free to offer their own take on “Mustang.” Kim Eisen Broomfi eld My theory: Blucifer was inspired by Eric Carle. See the “Blue Horse” page of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? It’s Blucifer, all the way down to his fi ery red eye. The sculpture is not his fi rst manifestation. Christopher Conner Lakewood Who knew Blucifer had an attorney? Dean Allman Aurora “THE BUS STOPPED HERE,” BENNITO L. KELTY, DECEMBER 14 A F A I R C H A N C E Many migrants get emergency housing while tons of Colorado citizens remain home- less. I agree that they should be treated like humans, because they have feelings, too. I also think that the same empathy should be applied to our citizens and communities, as well. I see more homeless Americans than migrants everywhere. How is this fair at all? It took me several years to get help, and I have a chronic illness!! It seems to me that we should fi ght for equal rights. There’s a lot of people who work full-time jobs and are still struggling with housing, and people with mental or physical issues who don’t even get glanced at. I feel chronic pain every single moment of my life, and I still try to go out and work and make money. But we have to remember not all of us are as well as the next person. I just wish there was a way to help these people raise money and fi nd places for new shelters or affordable homes for citizens and migrants equally, because at the end of the day, we are all human beings and need lots of love and God on our side. Destany Arguello Denver One of the city’s journalism organizations should give Bennito L. Kelty a special award for reporting on homelessness. His stories never sugarcoated the administration, nor did they turn people who objected to the plans into villains. Both of those leanings are certainly part of the reaction of the public to House1000. Very good journalism does as his does, which is to report rather than turn up the volume of opinions in public matters. In addition to the challenge of real objectivity which he has met so well, his reporting has been informative based on obviously serious research into all aspects of the subjects involved. Steven Zapiler Aurora ON THE COVER ART BY JAY VOLLMAR LETTERS T O T H E E D I T O R YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] Don’t miss a word! The stories in this print edition are just a fraction of the pieces we publish every week on westword.com. For a cheat sheet on all that content, subscribe to our daily newsletter at westword.com/profi le. You can also follow @denverwestword on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. And it’s all free! PHOTOGRAPH BY EVAN SEMÓN
