VOL. 01 NO. 209 | DECEMBER 20, 2016 | COLORADOSTATESMAN.COM/THE-HOT-SHEET | © 2016

DENVER – This time of year is general known as “dead” in most newsrooms. Many reporters are snug in their too-little padding office chairs working (sort of) on year-end stories, new year stories and holiday features. Not the case this year. Between the “faithless electors,” weather that blew in (who knew) and the Denver City Council … There’s more than enough “real” news to go around. Let’s get started and you be the judge …

As you are probably well aware, Donald Trump maneuvered the 12th Amendment correctly Monday to put him one step closer to the desk inside the Oval Office. Despite one Colorado “faithless” elector (who was quickly replaced), our little slice of heaven cast its electoral votes for Hillary Clinton. After reaching the magical number of 270, the president-elect blasted a Tweet out from between his palms:

“We did it! Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media).”

The future of Colorado’s implementation of the Electoral College? 9News does a nice job looking ahead.

The First Shot

“By increasing and improving equitable access to restrooms, Denver is not only supporting our transgender community, but these facilities will also better serve our families and caregivers.”

– In a statement issued by Amber Miller, spokesperson for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock

Potty Equality… Ladies ignore the urinal

Our long national (at least Denver) toilet nightmare is apparently over. The inequity of bathroom use among the various sexes within the boundary of Denver’s city limits has been abolished. Unsexed hats fill the air!

Denver’s City Council voting 11-0 Monday night to change the cities building codes that will now remove the distinction of “men’s restrooms” and “women’s restrooms” from all single-stalled potties to make them now unsexed.

Supporters portrayed the new rule – as reported by the Denver Post – as a matter of ensuring that men and women don’t face differing waits in restaurants and bars that have more than one single-stall bathroom; it also allows transgender patrons to use the restroom of their choice. Some businesses with two or more single-stall restrooms already skirted the old rules by making them open to anyone.

Thank goodness we got this one resolved! …

Don’t stand between the SoS and his mic

Some things are just amusing … During all the 12th Amendment ruckus at the state Capitol Monday, there was a quick exchange between Secretary of State Wayne Williams and an attorney. Apparently, from William’s point of view, the attorney was clearly out of line.

Caught and tweeted by 9News’ Brandon Rittiman … The look on both men’s faces tells the story of one man’s dedication to the Rule of Law and the other’s attempt at a grand political stunt. Check the short clip out by clicking the link above.

Mic drop …

How much is a Denver “WELCOME!” worth?

As we’ve said in the past … Everybody in America now has a sign and if they don’t, they are in the market to buy one. Unfortunately, the Denver City Council is OK to spend money to buy a sign – not intended for your personal demonstrations – but only for those who are visiting Denver, you know, as a public service.

When not bogged down in the business of solving the city’s overwhelming bathroom crisis … The Denver City Council voting Monday night to spend (or BLOW) $11.5 million not to increase public safety or to plow slick Denver streets of snow (yes, we noticed, Mayor Hancock), but to let visitors know that they’ve arrived – not to Honolulu but – to Denver! Yay! … (deep sigh)

DIA expects to recoup the sign’s construction cost in seven to eight years with ad revenue from the sign. The signage could have many uses – according to the reporting of Fox31 – including city event promotion and emergency alerts.

So next up in the continuing saga of Denver government making itself useful … Let’s guess … Denver’s International Airport might want to focus more on, we aren’t sure, the business of getting travelers in and out of the airport safely and on time? (Let’s check it out below, shall we?)

Frontier needs reputation assist for Christmas?

We get it … How could Colorado ever anticipate a few inches of snow or freezing weather. It’s a head scratcher, for sure. Denver International Airport or “the place where Christmas died – continues to be in the hot seat (see what we did there) following a weekend of loooong delays, lost baggage and canceled flights.

Frontier Airlines (yes, again) seems to be taking the brunt of the criticism. The avalanche of ticked-off holiday travelers has caused much finger wagging and finger-pointing. The latest scoring in the blame game was cast by the Frontier Airline Pilots Association:

“This most recent meltdown by frontier airlines is due to the same executive mismanagement and misplaced focus on cost-cutting that has placed frontier near the very bottom of the industry in operational performance and customer satisfaction.”

Checkout the flurry (See what we did there AGAIN) over at 9News …

Parking Elf: No fines for Christmas

Throwing caution to the wind this holiday … you might pray for world peace. You might even hope for good health or a prosperous new year. But at the very least, most of us would settle for not getting a parking ticket while Christmas shopping, RIGHT?

In this uncertain world, Richard “The Parking Elf” is back patrolling the streets inform his Colorado Springs co-owned businesses; Poor Richard’s Books and Gifts, Rico’s Cafe and Wine Bar, Little Richard’s Toystore and Poor Richard’s Restaurant. Awesome – heartwarming – reporting at the Gazette.

For the 4th year in a row, Richard “The Parking Elf” (we love typing parking elf) has been feeding meters so shoppers could avoid tickets and fines during the holiday season. Come on … How great is that?

Immediate calls placed (none were placed) to Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers and Santa Claus were not immediately returned.

Just for Laughs

Today in History

2007 – Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

1995 – NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.

1991 – A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.

1985 – Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.

1971 – The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.

1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.

1946 – The popular Christmas film It’s a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.

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