MILE-HIGH HEADLINES FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 18 Sign up here to receive Panorama every weekday morning–before it gets posted to our blog. The Clinton Delegate Saga Just Won’t End Hillary Clinton is plotting a coup to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee when the convention arrives in Denver next week. Mwhahahahaha! But over and over, newspapers are reporting that this just won’t happen, even though groups like People United Means Action (a.k.a. People United My Ass) are quick to point out that Clinton has more than 1,900 delegates and therefore a legitimate shot at convincing more of them that she should be the nominee. Just last week, Clinton’s historic achievement was reportedly going to be recognized in a roll call vote, but as New York Times columnist Gail Collins notes, “the last thing the Obamaites needed was a long spectacle on national television in which one state after another stood up, gave a plug for its tourist attractions, and then cast a divided vote, while the delegate lead switched back and forth until Barack won.” Now Clinton won’t see her historic achievement recorded in convention records, according to the Times. Try telling that to PUMA. Protesters Decry “Secret” Jail Nearly a dozen activists gathered on Friday in front of a “secret” warehouse–a.k.a. “Gitmo on the Platte”–to condemn Denver’s plans to use the brick building as a temporary detention facility during the Democratic National Convention. Police say they need the site in case there are mass arrests. Tensions were evident during the small protest, as three patrol cars drove up but then drove away after activists asked officers for business cards. “When a few activists tried to peek into the door windows, a couple of Denver sheriff deputies came out and told them to get off the dock,” according to the Rocky Mountain News, which notes that the facility, on Steele Street, will be open for tours between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Officials defend the site, according to 9News, which quotes Undersherriff Bill Lovingier as saying it was “never a secret.” In keeping with all things Gitmo, Amnesty International is planning to bring a life-sized re-creation of a maximum security Guantánamo Bay detention cell to Denver during the convention, according to ColoradoIndependent.com.

McCain’s Colorado Water Statement Simmers Okay, water stories are never fun. But see if you can stick this one out. It could be important later. Each year, Colorado, a national source of pure, flowing, absolutely delicious, life-giving water, is kind enough to allocate millions of acre-feet of water to relatively dusty California, Nevada, and Arizona, which happens to be Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s home state. Whatever is left is split between Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, according to a 1922 compact. But the compact didn’t foresee all the growth from the last several decades, and maybe California, Nevada, and Arizona should get more water. That’s according to, you guessed it, John McCain, in an interview with The Pueblo Chieftain. Given Coloradie’s five million “thirst-crazed” water drinkers, them’s “politically suicidal” fightin’ words, according to Bob Ewegen of The Denver Post. “Yes, fellow citizens of the state whose official motto is ‘Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting,’ John McCain has thunk the unthinkable,” Ewegen writes. Young Guns It’s against the rules for students, teachers, and campus workers, other than police, to carry firearms on the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus. Even though that’s more stringent than state law, that’s the way CU’s Board of Regents wants it. But now a group called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus wants the regents to allow handguns on campus, arguing that they have a right to self-defense under the Second Amendment, according to Boulder’s Daily Camera. The group is circulating petitions stating, “Criminals do not respect gun-free zones any more than they respect human life. Gun-free zones only disarm victims.” Campus police don’t like the idea, but the regents tilt conservative, meaning the board might feel some pressure to at least explore the issue. If this moves forward, I’ll bet that both advocates and opponents invoke the 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech to make their arguments. Vail Arts Patron Facing Charges Alberto Vilar poured $10 million into the Vail Valley, “helping to finance the performing arts center in Beaver Creek, remodel the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail and transform the area into a cultural hub,” according to the Rocky Mountain News. Though he failed to deliver on all his promises, leaving nonprofits asking questions, Vail’s backers of the arts scene knew him as a man who adored classical music, opera, skiing, and Beaver Creek. Today, the mountain arts community knows Vilar’s once-prominent investment firm, Amerindo, is preparing for a trial in New York on charges that Vilar defrauded his clients. His problems date to 2005, leading Forbes magazine to correct its record in a story stating that Vilar lied his way onto its list of wealthiest Americans. Yet Vilar spent nearly a month in jail, because he had trouble making his $10 million bail, and “owed money to almost everyone he knew, including his dry cleaner,” according to the magazine. Newspaper-Cutbacks Watch: The Capitol Beat In 2006, the Longmont Times-Call pulled its reporter out of the state Capitol. The move meant the Loveland Reporter-Herald and The Canyon City Daily Record, which also relied on said reporter, would be without first-hand, localized accounts of what was going on under the gold dome, as well. According to Times-Call editor John Vahlenkamp, priorities were changing, and other reporters would have to be more watchful and pick up the slack at home. It’s part of a trend that’s seen the number of newspaper and wire reporters at the Capitol dwindle from more than a dozen to seven today, according to ColoradoIndependent.com. Katie Reinisch, communications director for the House Democratic Majority, notes that when Colorado’s far-flung newspapers decide to leave desks at the Capitol vacant, hoping that larger newspapers will fill the void, they miss out on important local stories. And I know I’m harping on it, but add this much-discussed August 1 tidbit from the Denver Business Journal: There are rumors that before long Denver could be left with just one newspaper. Not Golden, But a Record University of Colorado senior Jenny Barringer set an American record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase during the Beijing Olympics this weekend, a thrill to her as she returns to Boulder for classes. Though Gulnara Galkina-Samitova of Russia won the race and shattered the world record, Barringer, who finished ninth, logged a U.S. record of 9:22.26, according to The Denver Post. A Winning Weekend for Colorado Proving their post-season dreams haven’t yet faded, the Colorado Rockies beat Washington 7-2 thanks to a pair of three-run homers by Ian Stewart and Seth Smith on Sunday, according to the United Press International. … Englishman Gary Smith filled in for Rapids’ coach Fernando Clavijo, who was away in Uruguay tending to a family medical emergency, as the soccer team defeated the Kansas City Wizards 2-1 during a slightly rainy home game. Striker Conor Casey scored two goals, as The Denver Post notes. … The Denver Broncos defeated the supposedly mighty Dallas Cowboys 23-13 in preseason play marked by excellent passing by Broncos’ quarterback Jay Cutler, according to The Denver Post. Videodose: The Rocky Mountain News speaks with Michael Dukakis, the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 1988, asking for his conventional words of wisdom. He says, “You think you’ve addressed every issue under the sun. You try to do so in your acceptance speech. But it’s a whole new ballgame, and you’ve got to begin, post-convention, as if the campaign has just begun. Quizzical: Think you can tell the difference between Denver’s makeover for the Democratic National Convention and Beijing’s for the Olympics? Really? Take this Radar quiz. Cheapest Gallon of Gas ‘Round Here: $3.67, Diamond Shamrock, 3504 S. Tower Road in Aurora (via www.gasbuddy.com).