Steve Chavis

Take Colorado's wide open prairie, add some drought, and just enough moisture to make the weeds grow... and you've got a "tumbleweed explosion," according to Colorado Springs Gazette reporter Garrison Wells.

Wells' article describes the havoc created by drifts of tumbleweeds as high as a house.  El Paso, Crowley and Pueblo counties have spend thousands of dollars trying to plow, grind and otherwise manage the plague.  "They can be the size of a small car," Wells told First Take.  "And they're a fire hazard."

Broadway actor Michael Milligan is touring the country with his one-man play "Mercy Killers," the saga of "Joe," a blue collar business owner whose uninsured wife is diagnosed with cancer.   This American tale is intense, and the Colorado tour (through March 14th)  is sponsored by the Health Care for All Colorado Foundation.

There are more than 200 registered neighborhood organizations (RNOs) in the City and County of Denver.  Tracking how all Denver's neighborhoods are getting along is the cities official Neighborhood Liaison, Michael Sapp.

On First Take, Sapp said inclusiveness helps make a neighborhood association effective.  "That includes race, but it also includes age, making sure they have a strong voice for their entire neighborhood."

The other key factor: a strong newsletter can keep a neighborhood connected and informed.

Ed Sullivan never stopped writing his column for the N.Y. Daily News, but his transition to "showman" treated the nation to an unmatched cultural panoply.  On "First Take with Lando and Chavis," Sullivan's press agent (1963 - 1971) Bernie Ilson tells the story behind Sullivan's genius in the book Sundays with Sullivan - How the Ed Sullivan Show brought Elvis, The Beatles and Culture to America, now in paperback.

The future of Denver's Welton Street Corridor is beginning to take shape with the winners of the Welton Design/Development Challenge announced last week.  Grants from $50,000 to $150,000 to five development plans hope to spark a major facelift and revival to one of the city's historic neighborhoods.  The audio feature includes remarks from the deputy regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Daniel Gomez, Jr. (the source of the $475,000 grant pool), Denver Mayor Hancock and District 8 councilman Albus Brooks.