4 NOVEMBER 20-26, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 6 FEELING HOUNDED Sick of your neighbor’s barking dog? Good luck getting a citation in Denver. BY HANNAH METZGER 8 THE HARD CELL The Supreme Court takes up another Colorado case...this one involving the GEO Group and its Aurora detention center. BY BENNITO L. KELTY 12 HOW POETIC Colorado’s anthology of poetry by its ten poets laureate will help sustain the program. BY KRISTEN FIORE 17 THE GLASS CEILING Can wine bars survive in beer- soaked Denver? BY ANTONY BRUNO 19 APOCALYPSE NOW Ego n friends unleashes a visual album confronting the world’s end. BY EMILY FERGUSON 12 Culture 17 Cafe 19 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 22 26 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 26 HIGH NOTES ............................................. XX VOLUME 49 NUMBER 12 NOVEMBER 20-26, 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 Bennito L. Kelty, Hannah Metzger Senior Contributors Brendan Joel Kelley, Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Gil Asakawa, Teague Bohlen, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Justin Criado, Audrey Ferrer, John Flathman, Susan Froyd, Jason Heller, Nick Hutchinson, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Skyler McKinley, Abi- gail Nueve, Ryan Pachmayer, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman, Helen Xu Music Listings Matthew Jones Cover Designer Monika Swiderski P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Kami Miller, Tori O’Connor 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 Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke Multimedia Account Executives Remy Diamond, Nate Easley, Trey Konsella, Kirby Quick, Christian Sanders, Allison Wissink Operations Manager Carver Hodgkiss Digital Sales Coordinator Anne-Grace Hartman Director of Digital Sales Alan Heath 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 Director of Business and Operations Russell Breiter 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 Editorial Operations Director Bridget Thomason Director of Membership and Community Development Jennifer Robinson Digital Operations & Audience Strategist Allison Stephenson Audience Strategist Dallon Adams 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. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1, payable in advance at the Westword offi ce. Westword may be distributed only by authorized Westword distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Westword, take more than one copy of each issue. C O P Y R I G H T The entire contents of Westword are copyright 2025 by Denver Westword LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, with- out the express written permission of the Publisher, Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Back issues may be purchased for $2 each plus postage from the Westword offi ce (issues older than six weeks subject to availability). The Best of Denver 2023 is $6 plus postage. Story reprints are available for $1 plus post- age; call 303-296-7744 to place an order, or check our archives at www.westword.com. Westword (USPS478230) is published weekly by Denver Westword LLC, 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver CO 80203. 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 PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTIAN HUNDLEY 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! PHOTO OF BEN COLLIER, DESIGN BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI “JURINSKY LOSES IN AURORA,” BENNITO L. KELTY, NOVEMBER 13 G A N G W A Y ! Having any gang causing problems in a couple of buildings is hardly “taking over the city.” MAGA Barbie was “knighted” by Trump because she parroted his racist and xenophobic lies. That was not the reason that Aurora tossed Danielle Jurinsky out on her Botoxed ass: Between her white supremacist views and her unwavering support for the APD’s unrepentant executions of unarmed POC men, her days were numbered.... Damian Nivas Denver It’s been interesting hearing the people who have lived in the Denver area for a long time. Some claim Aurora has always been a shithole, some claim that’s new. The funny thing is that people who call Aurora a shithole have never lived in a shithole, and it seems like most of them don’t even live in Aurora, anyway. They really just come across as racist and probably think that water is spicy. I don’t think I would trade my spot in Aurora for anywhere else in the metro. Scott Frisby Denver I hate to say “I told you so,” but yeah, I called out Danielle Jurinski as a MAGA GOP racist when no other Black men or women would: They were organizing events at her establish- ment, making her money. She’s been a Goofy and was openly racist in our faces – she sup- ports genocide in Gaza, too. I’m glad Aurora is fi nally shifting. I’m proud of Aurora. All power, to all of the people. Out of, by government estimates, over 40,000 Venezuelan migrants, the few in- cidents of crime defi nitely did not warrant the entire community being labeled and now targeted. Danielle’s rhetoric has destroyed thousands of lives. All so she could jump on the racist, deranged Trump train for her own political gains. Disgusting. She’ll do fi ne, she owns a bar and has racist people with money who support her. Terrance Roberts Denver I am a Denver Native native, as my family are the original Hispaños del Valle. My family came up north from what is now Mexico to the San Luis Valley in the Aztlan states: New Mexico and Southern Colorado in the mid- sixteenth century, almost an entire century be- fore the Mayfl ower landed at Plymouth Rock. I have lived in Aurora off and on my entire adult [post-Army] life. I purposefully moved into Ward 1 because of the Latino population. In the most recent election a progressive movement for the people swept Aurora, including Ward 1, pushing out incumbents like Danielle Jurinsky, our thankfully soon- to-be former councilwoman-at-large who so very wrongly claimed that we in Aurora are “overrun by Venezuelan gangs.” Jurinsky’s false statement has caused irreparable damage. The fallout has demon- ized our community. I founded and run the Facebook community of about 7,000 people called Aurora Colorado. After Jurinsky’s claims, we had people all over the country – people who have never been to Colorado, let alone Aurora – commenting about how bad it must be living here. When I said the statements were untrue or confl ated for political gain, I was threatened. Westword called Danielle Jurinsky the “face of Aurora” in its “People to Watch” issue, and I was livid. Jurinsky is the farthest thing from being “the face of Aurora” as there is. The face of Aurora is its people and community who are tired of being demonized for not being white, rich, and/or being an immigrant. We have a proud community where I’ve heard at least 125 different languages are spoken. We have a high military veteran population due to the fact that the main VA hospital is here. We have a fantastic array of restaurants in Aurora, particularly heading south from Colfax on Havana. Such a diverse population needs to be celebrated. Diversity is our strength. We proved that in the November 4 election: We are tired of people like Jurinsky, who is very clearly a xenophobic racist, running us into the ground instead of representing ALL of Aurora. It’s time for some changes and the people have spoken. Dearest Danielle, don’t go away mad, Just go away. Kerri Peek Aurora
