by Mark Smiley | Sep 29, 2014 | Travel
by Glen Richardson
Glendale staple Shotgun Willie’s is now open and will be serving liquor until 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights thanks to a new Common Consumption law (C.R.S. 12-47-103 et seq.) passed by the legislature in 2011.
State Senator Pat Steadman, a sponsor of the 2011 law that paved the way for Glendale’s extended drinking hours said, “Local governments should be allowed to set the hours of their establishments.” After the law was passed, the Glendale City Council approved the extended hours by a unanimous vote.
Shotgun Willie’s is the first establishment to get approval under the new law although casinos in Black Hawk and bars and restaurants in Morrison are considering it. “Now that casinos are allowed to stay open 24 hours, there is a lot of interest in Black Hawk of having later drinking hours,” said Steadman.
It is perhaps not surprising that Shotgun Willie’s was the first business to utilize the new law as Glendale was one of the prime backers of the new legislation.
The new hours brought the club to the attention of Brian Maass the investigative reporter for CBS4 Denver News. Maass, throughout his career, has made a living on doing specialty pieces on Shotgun’s and Glendale, usually in a negative light, and the latest story was no exception. Maass brought hidden cameras into the club for no apparent reason other than to have an employee on camera confirming the new hours which Maass acknowledged were wholly legal. On camera Maass made a Freudian slip first saying “wholly illegal” before correcting himself.
Westword’s Michael Roberts, in an article on the matter, made fun of Maass’ use of “hidden camera techniques even though everything the club has done is completely overboard [meant ‘aboveboard’].”
Maass then had the male executive director of the Colorado chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Fran Lanzer, predictably declare that they were against extended hours. He stated what’s happening with Glendale in his opinion is a risky proposition. “If we have a uniform statewide cutoff limit, then every bar has to close by 2 a.m. and that means there is no incentive to leave one bar to try and get to another bar that is going to close later. If there is an option where people could go and potentially continue drinking and continue their night, that would be an incentive for people to drive drunk and take that risk,” said Lanzer.
On his 710 KNUS morning show, Dan Caplis then praised the Maass piece and took calls on the subject. Michael Brown also covered the topic on his drive time radio show on 630 KHOW.
The net effect of the publicity was packed crowds now on the weekends after 2 a.m. “It’s incredible,” said Marguerite Lucas, Shotgun Willie’s spokesperson. “Brian Maass really knows how to gin up business for the club and we are very grateful.”
The club even put in huge letters on their marquee on Colorado Boulevard, “Thank You Brian Maass.” The club indicated thanks to the boost given to it by Maass and the related publicity, they may consider adding some other days of the week to the extended hours program.
by Mark Smiley | Sep 29, 2014 | General Featured
by Mark Smiley
It is the fastest, coolest, most beautiful trike in the history of trikes and it turns out that it is perfect for community policing according to the Glendale Police Department. The Department has already purchased and is employing one of these beautiful vehicles in day-to-day police work. It’s called a Can-Am Spyder Roadster and it goes up to 125 miles per hour and performs 0-60 mph in just 4.5 seconds.
The three-wheeled motorcycle is manufactured by Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products better known for their work with snowmobiles and jet skis. The vehicle has a single rear drive wheel and two wheels in front for steering, similar in layout to a modern snowmobile. In fact, it rides more like an ATV or snowmobile rather than a typical motorcycle. The futuristic-looking three-wheeled vehicle, equipped with state-of-the-art radar and camera systems, has been on the prowl since April. More are on the way.
Residents love to stop Glendale police officers riding the Can-Am Spyder to admire the vehicle and talk about its attributes. Just don’t call the vehicle a “trike” to an officer’s face as the Glendale Police are a little touchy about what they deem is a pejorative word for their pride and joy.
With the Riverwalk concept on the horizon (now known as Glendale 180), Captain Mike Gross looked for alternative ways to patrol the area which will be heavily pedestrian. The department has bicycles in its fleet but needed something faster that could still maneuver through tricky terrain, especially from Colorado Boulevard to Cherry Street. After testing a variety of different modes of transportation including electric motorcycles and segways, Gross found a rental company in Sheridan that had the Can-Am Spyders.
The time required to train the officers in the operation of the vehicles is less than traditional motorcycles. The training is held at the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s track. The motorcycle license endorsement is still required in order to ride these new vehicles. “This gives us an alternative to a patrol car,” said Chief William Haskins, Glendale Police. “We train our officers in one half day as opposed to the two weeks of motorcycle training.”
The normal two-wheel motorcycle became a hazard to police officers in Glendale. Approximately 50 percent of officers going through the two-week training would “graduate” and become certified. Chief Haskins points out that shorter statured officers could not place their feet firmly on the pavement with the motorcycles. A fair amount would sustain injuries that would shelve them for an indefinite period of time. In contrast the anti-lock braking system allows the Spyder to stop on a dime making it safer for officers to ride.
The Police Department has sold its last motorcycle and you will not find any more on the streets. Currently, there are 27 sworn in officers on the force and 23 of them are eligible to ride the new Spyder.
Glendale is the only police department to have such a vehicle in Colorado, and is one of only a handful in the entire country to utilize them. Branson, Missouri, has two in their fleet and they are the only department in Missouri with them. The police chief in Branson, Kent Crutcher, says the vehicles “offer better stability on the hills of Branson, and better safety ratings than traditional two-wheeled motorcycles.” Glendale’s police chief’s main focus and mantra is to “take officers out of the metal box and have them be more approachable.”
“O.K., O.K.” Police Chief Haskins conceded at the end of the Chronicle interview. “If you want to call it a ‘trike’ you can call it a ‘trike.’” He went on to explain, “It was Shakespeare who correctly noted in Romeo and Juliet that a rose by any other name still smells just as sweet.”
