Yesterday's record 90-degree heat recalled the days of last summer's Democratic National Convention, when downtown vendors hawked items like Barack Obama dolls (as this Wall Street Journal article reported at the time). But the heat was on in a different way for a different sort of vendor yesterday, as cops detained nine operators on and around the 16th Street Mall during a lunchtime raid that netted a cache of "designer" goods bearing apparently false labels, according to The Denver Post. The U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement agency seized suspected knock-off purses, wallets, sunglasses, and clothing--putting a dent in the $250 billion annual counterfeit fashion industry. The Downtown Denver Business Partnership provides permits to about 30 street vendors on 16th Street Mall and was unsure if all the vendors scooped up in the bust were operating with permits and by the book. Any vendors who violate the law could lose their permits, a spokeswoman for the partnership says. The names of the vendors were not released.