Thomas Kramer's South Beach Story Ends With $200 Million Court Judgment

Red-eyed with exhaustion, Thomas Kramer slumped behind his empty desk. The real estate tycoon had been up all night worrying about how to break the news to his employees. As they filed in, he reached across the desk and grabbed a bottle of pills. Behind him, green lights blinked on an oversize map, indicating the dozens of exotic locales he'd visited. But the shell-shocked look on his face made the towering, blond German look less a glamorous entrepreneur than the general of a defeated army.

It was a Thursday morning in early March, and Kramer had called an emergency staff meeting i... full story >>

Mike Miles versus The World

This is a good time to reflect on the difficulty of finding truth in the battle over school reform in Dallas, because at this moment I don't seem to be able to get through the front door. I am standing on the parking lot at James Madison High School on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in South Dallas, trying to get into a community meeting organized by school board member Bernadette Nutall to rally support for Marian Willard, principal of Madison. It's a cool breezy evening in March.

Apparently Willard is on a list of some 50 principals slated for replacement under the school reform... full story >>

Colfax is moving quickly -- and we're going along for the ride

Over the past decade, Westword has profiled some of the major streets and arteries that give Denver life. For this year's project, we return to Colfax Avenue, the subject of our first profile, to examine the many changes that have taken place along Denver's main street over the past ten years.

Colorado State Capitol

200 East Colfax Avenue

All that glitters: Colfax Avenue, at 26-plus miles, is touted as the longest main street in America, and was also once dubbed the "wickedest street" in America by Playboy — which is a lot more interesting than its actual name,... full story >>

Conduct Unbecoming: One Officer's Struggle with the Texas Air National Guard

For almost every workday over the past ten months, a 35-year-old first lieutenant in the Texas Air National Guard has done little more than sit in the Lackland Air Force Base library. His security clearance, accrued through 14 years of steady, strong work, has been revoked. His requests for transfer have been ­denied.

Since the August day that his commander, Lt. Col. David Penney, called the first lieutenant — who doesn't want his real name used for this story, so we'll call him Ian Mac­Leod — into his office, Mac­Leod has been ostracized by co-workers an... full story >>

Thomas Kramer's South Beach Story Ends With $200 Million Court Judgment

Red-eyed with exhaustion, Thomas Kramer slumped behind his empty desk. The real estate tycoon had been up all night worrying about how to break the news to his employees. As they filed in, he reached across the desk and grabbed a bottle of pills. Behind him, green lights blinked on an oversize map, indicating the dozens of exotic locales he'd visited. But the shell-shocked look on his face made the towering, blond German look less a glamorous entrepreneur than the general of a defeated army.

It was a Thursday morning in early March, and Kramer had called an emergency staff meeting i... full story >>

How undercover animal rights activists are winning the Ag-Gag war

Cody Carlson had no way of preparing for this moment. He was a Manhattan kid, days removed from working as an analyst for a business-intelligence firm, where he scrutinized corporations and their executives.

Now he was standing in a bleak barn at New York's largest dairy farm.

There was a medieval feel to the place. Cows were wedged head-to-tail in pens carpeted with their own waste. The air was an acrid blend of urine, manure, and chemicals. Some animals were left unattended with open sores that leaked puss. Others lay dying in pens, too sick or weak to stand.

"It's in... full story >>