4 OCTOBER 2-8, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 15 UNBEARABLY GOOD The best places to eat green chile in Denver. BY MOLLY MARTIN 6 RUN UNTIL YOU’RE CAUGHT He was arrested during his 2022 Congressional campaign. Now, Joshua Rodriguez is going for governor. BY HANNAH METZGER 8 BAN ON THE RUN Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson will argue the case in Washington, D.C. BY BRENDAN JOEL KELLEY 12 PLANTING A SEED Lee Lee has opened Galleries on Downing, a space to share art, books and celebratory activism. BY KRISTEN FIORE 19 DOUBLE TROUBLE: Trouble’s Braids delivers goth Americana on debut EP. BY EMILY FERGUSON 12 Culture 15 Cafe 19 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 20 22 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 22 HIGH NOTES ............................................. XX VOLUME 49 NUMBER 5 OCTOBER 2-8, 2025 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Brendan Joel Kelley, Bennito L. 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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 general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] ON THE COVER ILLUSTRATION BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI 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! DESIGN BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI “SCARED SILENT,” BENNITO L. KELTY, SEPTEMBER 25 N O I D L E T H R E A T Thank you so much for Bennito L. Kelty’s story about Coles Whalen. I fi nd it ironic that the Supreme Court could decide that Billy Counterman’s online messages weren’t “threatening enough,” when in the case of the Evergreen shooter and the Charlie Kirk killing, we see that ignored threats can turn into very real shootings. Joel Martin Denver My heart goes out to Coles Whalen. Bad enough that she had to deal with all those threats. But for the Supreme Court to over- turn her stalker’s conviction will just confi rm every victim’s fear that the establishment doesn’t care about them. Sally Lisbon Denver Excellent, timely story about Coles Wha- len and the Supreme Court decision. Joe Vigil Denver “THE KRATOM CONUNDRUM,” BRENDAN JOEL KELLEY, SEPTEMBER 25 J U S T A C T N A T U R A L Thank god for natural medicine! Centuries ago, people realized the power of nature. We do not need big pharma’s emphasis on the power of money, which does nothing to help people really in need. Alana Marquez Denver Psychiatry/psychology and pharmaceutical science is so far beyond kratom. A psychiatrist can prescribe something 10,000 times better than kratom. All you have to do is take the time to speak to one. The state went as far as legalizing ketamine and medical mushrooms. Stop doing cheap drugs, people! People who study the body and medicine for years and years laugh at this! Randal Friedman Orlando, Florida Please don’t outlaw this! I am a pain patient with a broken neck and back; this is the only thing that really helps me. Please, we are being treated unfairly by doctors now that the BS opiate crisis happened. Our pain is no longer managed. Don’t take this. It’s helping so many people, and I’m stockpiling this stuff in case y’all fucking take it away. Jessi Mullinix Denver LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, SEPTEMBER 25 J U S T T H E ‘ F A X I am surprised anyone thinks this Colfax project is great. In particular, I think the new bus stations are grandiose in design and will be of little use during inclement weather for riders. This BRT project is not scheduled for completion until sometime in 2027. It’s just the start of this imbroglio. In 2017 (an off-year election), the city re- ceived voter authorization for funding of $937 million in general obligation bond money paid for with property tax increases. Of this amount, $55 million was designated for this BRT project. An additional $20 million was also authorized for sidewalk improvements and other infrastructure for Colfax. In November 2025 (another off-election year), the city has a proposal on the ballot (Vibrant Denver) for an additional $950 million for various projects within the city and county. Of this amount, $441 million is dedicated to various road and safety proj- ects, which could be allocated to further “enhancement” of the East Colfax project. This past spring I visited Marseille and Montpellier, France, both of which had a mod- ern urban transport system featuring sleek electric-driven monorails, which only used one lane (the conductor’s seats were on both ends of the monorail). They had user-friendly, modular and effi cient bus stops, and the monorail inte- grated well with vehicular traffi c. A final note: The lack of marketing (explaining this project) by RTD and lack of design imagination in the BRT Colfax project may very well jeopardize the ballot issue this fall. Tom Boylan Denver
