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*Winner of the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award for Newspaper Feature writingPublished in Westword, 10.31.17Acid tests, free love, the Grateful Dead, cat-and-mouse games with federal agents...Fifty years after the Summer of Love, it’s still a little-known fact that Denver had been home to two major LSD laboratories. Even though the operations were short-lived, they created significant repercussions — not just legally for their operators, but for the psychedelic movement as a whole --> READ MORE -
Published in Westword, 5.23.17In Colorado's Costilla County, officials have to contend with off-the-grid residents who hold “sovereign” beliefs and don't believe they must observe all the laws of the U.S. government. In May of 2017, I travelled to the San Luis Valley, which has seen standoffs, arrests, and instances of "paper terrorism." It's all part of a movement that's growing across the country. READ MORE -->
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*First Place Winner in the category of Arts and Entertainment at SPJ's 2016 "Top of the Rockies" AwardsPublished in Westword, 11.17.15Rachel Aboytes' life was cut short when she was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Denver. What happened next seems surreal to her family: Aboytes has become canonized as a cult icon of Spanish rap.
Nicknamed “Baby Smiley,” Aboytes was relatively obscure when she was alive. In death, the Chicana rapper's legacy has taken on a life of its own. READ -->
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Published in LA Weekly, 2.4.15Most of L.A.'s cycling competitions remain underground, like The Fast and the Furious on bikes. Cyclists meet late at night for races throughout the city, usually organized on social media so that police cannot know the locations and shut them down ahead of time. Most people agree the scene took off thanks to a single group: Midnight Ridazz, whose origins can be traced to a chilly evening in February 2004, when six cyclists and two skateboarders spontaneously decided to tour the fountains of downtown Los Angeles. READ MORE --> -
Published by NPR, 5.14.13
Co-Authored with Morgan Hartley
If someone asked you to bet on the outcome of a nine-year old’s boxing match, would you do it?
In Thailand’s rural villages, it happens all the time, where child boxers and gambling are among the oldest traditions of Muay Thai fighting. This feature digs into the lives, ethics, and economics behind one of Thailand’s most controversial sports. The story follows the daily routine of a nine-year old fighter named Chai, and the pressures he faces as his village puts its money on him. --> CLICK
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Published in The Atlantic, 6.3.13
Co-Authored with Morgan Hartley
Seyma is an eleven year old Cambodian boy who lives at an orphanage on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Carl is a 24 year old Australian volunteer who has become like a father figure to him.
The problem is that Seyma is not actually an orphan. Neither are any but one of the children who live at SCAO -- the Save Poor Children in Asia Organization. In fact, 71 percent of all children in Cambodia’s “orphanages” have parents, but that hasn’t stopped a recent surge of parents like Seyma’s who have sacrificed the upbringing of their kids to provide education and opportunity for them at a center. Seyma’s mother leaves it up to volunteers like Carl to raise her son. Is this a good thing? --> CLICK
