Brew pub owner John Hickenlooper cruised to victory tonight in the race to be Denver's first new mayor in more than a decade.

With about 103,000 ballots counted, Hickenlooper has nearly twice as many votes as city Auditor Don Mares.

Hickenlooper had 65 percent to Mares' 35 percent. All but one precinct has been counted.

Hickenlooper, who rebounded after losing his job as a geologist in the 1980s oil bust to launch a Lower Downtown brewpub and open a string of restaurants, was the favorite heading into today's election to succeed Wellington Webb, whose 12 years in the mayor's office end on July 21.

Beer for everybody!

You can watch the results 'live' starting when the polls close at 7pm.

But increasingly, critics are asking some pointed questions: Is broadcast television worth saving, especially when the industry arguably has abandoned the pact struck decades ago — that is, in exchange for serving the "public interest," TV stations get to use the airwaves for free? Why give broadcasters the ability to become more profitable when many of them no longer air the kind of community-oriented programming that once was their mandate?

Might it make more sense for Uncle Sam to fatten its coffers by taking back the airwaves and selling them to the highest bidder?

Some interesting thoughts on the FCC's role in the modern media landscape. Why should NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox get to make money off a medium they don't pay for, especially when their 'public service' is a joke. Take the spectrum back, auction it off to cell phone providers, wireless internet companies, etc and use the money to subsidize pay-tv for those that don't already have it. If we're not getting our end of the bargain, lets just dump the bargain. Interesting thoughts.

[via Slate]

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