Colorado briefs

Sam "Sam'l" Arnold, authentic character and owner of The Fort restaurant in Morrison, died today. He did lots of interesting things over his (almost) 80 years, including teaching Julia Child how to open a bottle of champagne with a tomahawk (let's try that again), a feat she subsequently performed on the Tonight Show. Here's the Rocky's obit; here's the Post's inexplicably measly item.

There are a record 30,000 houses on the market in Denver, more foreclosures than almost anywhere, and no bottom in sight: "Selling a home? Good luck." Real estate magnate Drunkablog asks: You can't be imprisoned for debt anymore, right?

Remarkable: Since 1999 the Denver Zoo has reduced its yearly water consumption 75 percent, from 300 to 75 million gallons, and slashed its annual water bill from $154,000 that year to $38,000 in 2005. How'd they do it? Ask the flamingos.

Mega-jerks: Vandals defaced 1000-year-old Fremont Indian petroglyphs in the McInnis National Conservation area in southwestern Colorado. Note that the "federal land managers" don't even know when it happened, exactly; petroglyph panels are often so isolated they don't get visitors for days or even weeks, so the vandals are long gone by the time their depredations are discovered. It's been a problem for decades, and some panels along the Green River just 50 miles west have been hit as hard as anywhere.

Update: Here's a 1994 Westword review of The Fort.

Update II: Only through blogging could one learn, as I did this evening, that there's such a thing as performance underwear. What's next, multitasking pants?

Update III: Forgot this one: "Dog feces left at congresswoman's office." How dumb do you have to be to do something like that? How dumb do you have to be to get caught? (via, shamefully, Drudge)