Loving and Loathing: Looking Back on 2007

Looking back on any given year, there’s always a lot to love and a whole lot to loathe. We’ve highlighted some of our favorites although we’re sure we missed many other great and not-so-great happenings in the North Metro area. We loathe that we had only one page to fit all of this in print.

Loved
Finally Living Up To The Hype: It took awhile—too long for many taxpayers who paid for the $43-million Broomfield Event Center that recently turned one. But things are certainly looking up for the fledging venue along Highway 36. Following the (very expensive) hiring of Hollywood hotshot Gene Felling as GM, the Event Center has lured Cirque du Soleil, Matchbox Twenty and Alanis Morissette, and the state’s annual Republican Convention.

Loathed
It Wasn’t Just A Random Cold In July: Perhaps Broomfield’s assessor had a little too much disposable income leftover from her $83,000-a-year city job. Coworkers of Vickie Brown reported hearing long snorts from her cubicle. One saw white residue on her desk. It turns out Brown was snorting cocaine on the clock. She later admitted to it and resigned, although charges were never filed.

Loved
The Laughable Losers Actually Win: Although Rocktober became cliché in two weeks flat, the Colorado Rockies’ magical run in which they won 21 of 22 games to reach the World Series was nothing short of epic and it turned the metro area into a baseball town for once. We’re guessing more than 100,000 metro-area residents bought their first Rockies hat this October.

Loathed
Digging Out: Cash-strapped cities in the North Metro area needed hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra expenditures like Boulder needs more head shops. But when blizzard after blizzard hit the area in late December 06 through January, communities such as Erie, Louisville and others were left with six-figure snowplow bills. At least the roads up north were a whole lot better than Denver’s.

Loved
We’re About To Become The Political Capitol Of The U.S.: Whether you side Red or Blue, be happy that Howard Dean announced in January that Denver would be the home to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. It’s going to make Colorado a political heaven in a very important election year. We will also get a front row seat to a great battle in a swing state in the all-important mountain West region.

Loathed
North Metro’s Border War: Frederick and Erie really got into it this spring when Frederick tried to annex the land under a road already under Erie purview. At stake some valuable land at a soon-to-be booming intersection. Erie has thoughts of development; Frederick is thinking it likes open space there. The case is still in litigation, so we’re guessing it will be a while before the two towns kiss and make up.

Loved
The People Stand Up: For the first time in Longmont’s long history, its residents took the first step to repeal a decision made by its city council—the annexation of the controversial LifeBridge project. By gathering nearly 6,000 signatures of protest and bringing the issue to a vote in January 2008, Longmont residents proved why Colorado is a great state to live in: If you don’t like a law, you have the power to change it.

Loathed
An Awful Case Of Animal Cruelty: A Denver Municipal Animal Shelter worker was sentenced in November to two years probation for having sex with a basset hound. The man was caught with his pants down trying to coax the poor pooch into performing fellatio on him.