RM-Eye on the Front Range: Paying for the big storms
By RMI Staff 
| July 28, 2009 | 1:14 PM
In The Denver Post:
The often-severe June and July weather is going to cost insurance companies half a billion dollars (yes, that’s billion with a “b”). Mobile units and drive-through claim sites are on the case. It’s just too bad that Post writer Tom McGhee didn’t spend a day in the trenches to tell the stories of the people affected — afflicted residents or insurance adjusters.
Also in the Post:
- Colorado schools vying for pupils: An interesting story on why and how some schools are out recruiting students because there are so many different choices out there today.
- Slain Montrose officer gave all to family, service: A nice profile of Sgt. David Kinterknecht, who was killed during a standoff over the weekend.
- Colorado Medicaid lists swelling: The state has seen a 14 percent increase in people enrolling in the health insurance program — some for the first time. Why wasn’t this on the front page?
In Westword:
- The fart as art: A sound sculpture at the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art prominently features a whoopee cushion. A must-see for little boys everywhere.
- Might as well be local: The band Off With Their Heads (best use of children’s lit as band name — perhaps better than Veruca Salt) is making a tour stop in Denver, but that isn’t the most interesting part of the story. Apparently there are plenty of touring bands (not the big names) that make a point of stopping in Denver as often as possible.
Up and down the Front Range:
- Boulder Daily Camera: The headline “Homeowner shoots bear invader with shotgun” doesn’t quite do the story justice. The homeowner actually used his shotgun, rifle and a pistol to kill the charging animal.
- Colorado Springs Gazette: A rare illness, one so rare that it inflicts only one in a million, has sidelined Rampart High School graduate Devon Aimes just before he was set to start college. Gazette editors were perhaps more excited about the chance to use “one in a million” in a headline than telling a more compelling story. Perhaps this is one of those stories that should have been held until the writer could have talked to the family, or even the teen once he recovered.
- Greeley Tribune: The Trib gets headline of the day props for “Drive-by victim spits out bullet.” Do we really need to read the story?
bear, david kinterknecht, drive-by shooting, fart art, insurance claims, medicaid, off with their heads, recruiting students, severe weather
