AltWeeklies Wire
Project Censored: The Top 10 Stories the US Media Missednew

The mainstream media regularly covers terrorism, but rarely discusses how the fear of attacks is used to manipulate the public and set policy. That's the common thread of many unreported stories last year.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
10-01-2008 |
Media
SF's Clean Energy Act Could Mean Lower Carbon Emissions and Lower Electric Billsnew
The Clean Energy Act, which will appear as Proposition H on the November ballot, mandates that the city undertake a study to determine the most cost effective and expeditious way to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2040.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
09-11-2008 |
Environment
New Report Casts Bad Light on Popular Sunscreensnew
The nonpartisan, nonprofit Environmental Working Group studied 952 sunscreens with a SPF of 15 or higher and discovered that 80 percent contain harmful chemicals and didn't really protect skin from the most damaging rays of the sun.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
08-13-2008 |
Science
Death of 17-Year-Old Pregnant Farm Worker Incites Campaign Against Trader Joe'snew
The California Division of Industrial Relations has opened an investigation of Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez's death and her employer, Merced Farm Labor. But activists connected to the case want to send the message even further, to stores like Trader Joe's that market products made with cheap or exploited agricultural labor.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
07-10-2008 |
Business & Labor
Union Shuts Down West Coast Ports, But Media Misses the Historic Storynew
Workers, students, immigrants, and antiwar activists came together on May Day in San Francisco, but it was hard to tell from the next day's mainstream media coverage, which adopted its usual cynical view of the growing movement to end the Iraq War. Sure, there were articles, but each missed the main point: this was the first time in American history that such a massive job action was called to protest a war.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Steven T. Jones and Amanda Witherell |
05-08-2008 |
Business & Labor
Why is it So Hard to Get Solar Power in San Francisco?new
Across California, citizens are jumping at the chance to decrease their carbon output. Yet in San Francisco, where environmental sentiment and high energy costs ought to be driving a major solar boom, there's very little action.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell and Sarah Phelan |
04-16-2008 |
Environment
The Shelter Shufflenew

Inside San Francisco's confounding system of housing the homeless.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
02-13-2008 |
Housing & Development
Tags: housing & development
Is Childbirth Bad for the Earth?new
I'm drawn to the childless life for a number of reasons, and reading the International Panel on Climate Change reports released this year has given me one more.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
12-19-2007 |
Environment
Tags: environment
Making Solar Panels More Affordable in San Francisconew
"The idea with my proposal is the city would use its very high credit rating to borrow money at almost zero cost," Sup. Gerardo Sandoval says. That money would be turned over to citizens as low-interest loans to be paid back through a monthly assessment, similar to a property tax, with a very low interest rate.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
11-14-2007 |
Environment
Tags: environment
A Major Polluter Could Cash Innew
Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to give Mirant Corp. $2 million to shut down its power plant.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
11-07-2007 |
Business & Labor
Tags: business & labor
The Perils of Privatizationnew
Ronald Reagan started dismantling government 25 years ago, but his privatization legacy is alive and growing -- even in San Francisco.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
10-17-2007 |
Policy Issues
Tags: public policy issues
Cracking Down on the Homeless Costs Taxpayers Millionsnew
The number of homeless individuals slapped with quality-of-life citations and the cost to San Francisco of processing those citations reached new highs in the past 14 months, according to a new study.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
10-10-2007 |
Housing & Development
Tags: housing & development
The Top 10 Stories the Media Missed This Past Yearnew
This year's Project Censored presents a chilling portrait of a newly empowered executive branch signing away civil liberties for the sake of an endless and amorphous war on terror -- and for the most part, the press wasn't paying attention.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
09-05-2007 |
Media
Turning the Tidesnew
Have Mayor Gavin Newsom and PG&E teamed up to steal San Francisco's tidal power from the public?
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
06-27-2007 |
Environment
Tags: environment
Nuclear Greenwashingnew
Global warming has suddenly put nuclear power back on the agenda -- but there's a lot the industry isn't telling you.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
05-30-2007 |
Environment