Luke Schmaltz -- A Man of Words

“It’s not vaccines that save lives, it’s vaccinations.”
— Stephanie Wasserman, Executive Director, Immunize Colorado
by Luke Schmaltz
The strategy for combating the spread of Covid-19 and thus, reducing the subsequent fallout of loss and tragedy is fairly simple: inoculate the population. While this equation reads well on paper, implementing it across the Mile High region has a distinct set of challenges.
From a practical standpoint, it would seem that the biggest obstructions to vaccine dist...

by Luke Schmaltz
The broadcasting topography across the Mile High City is as varied and diverse as the populace of the city itself. Listeners interested in local happenings, extreme opinions, artistic outlooks, nerd-tastic observations and business savvy can tune in and sink their teeth into just about any narrative that resonates with their worldview.
If you were to amass the vast amount of topical content originating from the greater Denver area into one giant mountain of sound, slice it in...

“The number one rule of thieves is that nothing is too small to steal.” – Jimmy Breslin
by Luke Schmaltz
A large number of Denver residents are sitting on top of a hidden treasure and they don’t even know it.
Below the interior cabs of all modern cars, along the vehicle’s undercarriage parallel to the driveshaft, sits the exhaust system in a series of pipes, gaskets and couplings. Within this assembly, for all cars made after 1975, is a catalytic converter — a filter which transforms harmful ...

By Luke Schmaltz
At this time last year, if you were to offer someone a set of guidelines for maintaining mental stability, you’d probably get a well-deserved smack in the mouth.
Now that circumstances are settling into a cautious clip toward not crazy, some folks are hoping to reclaim their sense of sanity.
There are simple steps you can take to stop the negative internal chatter, calm your mind and exact some mental clarity so that you can enjoy yourself when you get a chance. Also, an appr...

“An old building is like a show. You smell the soul of an old building. And the building tells you how to redo it.” – Cameron Mackintosh
by Luke Schmaltz
Casa Bonita stands shuttered alongside West Colfax like a circus gelding locked in a corral for which there is no key. First opened in 1974, the one-of-a-kind survivor from a bygone era is a testament to the optimism, pageantry and imagination of the previous century. But alas, it is currently silent as a result of COVID-19.
The Pink Palace ...

“Rather than turning the page, it’s much easier to just throw the book away.” — Anthony Liccione
by Luke Schmaltz
Sometimes, the greener grass on the other side of the fence is attainable — as long as you’re willing to go 199 miles south (three hours and three minutes by car) to get there. Trinidad, Colorado, is a former mining town with three-or-so centuries of history, a patchwork topography of dilapidation and new development and a lot of potential.
As Denver’s metropolitan growing pains m...

“The world is divided into armed camps ready to commit genocide just because we can’t agree on whose fairy tales to believe.” — Ed Krebs
by Luke Schmaltz
Daniel Woldu is a resident of Aurora, Colo., and a member of the international Tigray community. He has family members living in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. He watches in horror as online CNN footage (leaked from a soldier-turned-whistleblower) shows a military squadron slaughtering his ethnic peers in illegal extrajudicial execu...

“When I was a kid, I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and asked him to forgive me.” — Emo Phillips
by Luke Schmaltz
Irony rolls up and down the streets of the Mile High City, as many unhoused inhabitants — unable or unwilling to pay the skyrocketing rent rates — somehow cruise about upon top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art, high-end triumphs of transportation.
Bicycles as well as their various parts and components ar...

What Residents Can Do To Keep Their Vehicles From Being Stolen

“We live in a time when if you make it easy for someone to steal from you, someone will.” — Frank Abagnale

by Luke Schmaltz

Denver car owners’ vehicles are driving away without them at an alarming rate.

suburbs coupled with the ideals of convenience and self-reliance stamped into most American DNA means that just about everyone with a driver’s license also has access to a car. Of the many thousands of vehicles in use across the Fr...

“Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.” – Mark Twain

by Luke Schmaltz

Perhaps the lowest blow Covid-19 has thrust into the guts of live entertainment is the crippling assault on the art form that thrives within kissing distance of society’s face.

Live comedy shows are casualties of circumstance, as there is too great a price to pay when large crowds of people gather in compact spaces and let loose with the explicit purpose of opening up and laughing out loud.

The essence of effe...

Companies with the means and protocols in place for identifying the reason behind a component failure can better maintain a safe and efficient work environment. By doing so, failure analysis can help protect against reoccurring costly equipment failures once the failure has been determined and corrected, while overall increasing peace of mind among personnel.
Exelon PowerLabs offers comprehensive failure analysis services which apply a full-scale suite of inspections, tests and imaging techno...

In the world of manufacturing and the scientific analysis of measurement (metrology), accuracy and precision are critical to success.

These pursuits involve a wide array of specialized components and highly sensitive instruments that, in order to remain reliable, must be calibrated on a regular basis. This need arises because situational factors such as extreme temperatures, pressure, moisture, electrical surges, wear and tear, radiation or otherwise harsh conditions can alter the baseline va...

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
by Luke Schmaltz
Unless you’ve been self-quarantined under a rock with no phone service and no outside contact, you are aware of the devastation Covid-19 is having on independent businesses across Denver and the Front Range. Since Spring 2020, hundreds of businesses have been forced to close for good, while others are either temporarily shuttered or operating on restricted hours, severely limited capacities a...

“The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

by Luke Schmaltz

On February 17, 2020, Jason Stoval — aka Sid Pink — landed in Paris for a close friend’s 40th birthday celebration. Stoval is an acclaimed Denver-based producer, director, filmmaker, musician, writer, actor and MC. The occasion was to span across numerous days, as a small, tight-knit group planned to meet for dinner, t...

It is a well documented fact that, from time to time, even the most diligent and focused people require relationship advice. Yet, less widely known are the specific relationship tips used by happy couples that help cultivate healthy interpersonal dynamics.

After the honeymoon period of frenzied lovemaking and whirlwind adventures gives way to necessary routines, people can become overwhelmed by economic stress and the burden of maintaining a household. Over time, this can create a distance between partners that tears into a rift that can expand into a chasm.