Mike Smedley
Position: Staff reporter

Top horticulturalist will talk about famed rock gardens at Kew

Tom Freeth to speak July 24 in Durango

Action Line pulls column, apologizes to readers

Editor’s note: The Durango Herald has removed Saturday’s Action Line column from its website and regrets that it was published. It targeted New Mexico visitors and offended many of our r...

Horoscope’s advice comes from another planet

I’m worried about my horoscope and whether it’s offering the best advice. In the Herald’s Friday (March 27) edition, Scorpios are told: “Grab every chance to party and have fun today. Enjoy ...

On a lighter note, here’s how goldfinches change color

I’m sick of hearing about the virus. How about a non-pandemic question? Around this time of year, the goldfinches suddenly turn bright yellow. How do they know when to change colors and what...

Witty sign unwittingly predicts the future

When I saw this marquee at the fairgrounds, the irony of psychics having “unforeseen circumstances” struck me as pretty darn funny. Then, almost immediately, I wondered what Action Line’s ta...

Truck at Durango Mall gets 5-star review for irony

Is the Amazon Prime truck at the Durango Mall picking up or dropping off? Probably dropping off since half the stores have abandoned the mall. Maybe this photo is the ultimate indignity. Eit...

College Drive road diet weighs heavily on some locals

After enduring “improvements” to College Drive, several of us citizens want to stop the planned complete destruction of this corridor. If the changes that have been made so far weren’t so ho...

City patches things over with local skeptics and atheists

What is “services parking” along East Third Avenue? Is “services parking” available every day of the week? I noticed that some tape is obscuring the top part of the signs, presumably coverin...

Older stoppers are non-starters in rec center showers

What’s with the Durango rec center shower control knobs? They keep changing directions. One day, you turn the handle to the left for hot water. The next day, it’s to the right. Also, it vari...

Trimble Crossing is the area’s new hot spot

On my way up to Purgatory, the temperature sign at Trimble Crossing shows it’s hot as hell. Does La Plata County have an untapped power source? Is the magma that fuels Trimble Hot Springs co...

It’s up to the locals to create Follies humor

It was yet another snowless year for Snowdown, but that unfortunate situation paled in comparison to this year’s Snowdown Follies. What? No local humor? In a year of budget scandals, a city ...

Alleys have allies for old ugly sheds

What about doing a column about the great old ugly sheds in the alleys around West Second and West Third avenues? They seem to be jam-packed with old stuff. It would be nice to have some pho...