AltWeeklies Wire
How Portland Teachers Use Your Tax Dollars to Get Aheadnew
Several key details of the contract changed but one ithing did not: How much Portland Public Schools pays its 3,000-plus teachers still depends on just two factors. Neither of which have much, if anything, to do with the quality of their teaching.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
03-17-2010 |
Education
A Mayor's Dozen: Sam Adams Proposes 12 Spending Hikes as the City Cuts its Budgetnew
Much ink has been spilled over Mayor Sam Adams’ budget decision to divert $20 million from Portland’s backlog of sewer-system repairs to help build new bicycle boulevards. But that’s not the only spending question facing the mayor this month.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
03-17-2010 |
Politics
PG&E and Mercury Insurance are Spending Millions to Try to Trick California Votersnew
California voters are about to be bombarded by more than $50 million in political advertising designed to convince them to approve a pair of measures desperately sought by two powerful corporations with a long history of lies and political corruption.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Rebecca Bowe and Steven T. Jones |
03-17-2010 |
Politics
Will the Louisiana Public Service Commission Pull the Plug on Renewable Energy?new
Both sides of the scale tip with each consideration: Will ratepayers get shafted? Will utilities stay out of the red? Are jobs stable? Is the environment benefiting? Are our local energy sources secure? And can the feds stay out of the state's hair?
Gambit |
Alex Woodward |
03-17-2010 |
Environment
Consultants Aid City Council Candidates: Winners Paid Thousands for Helpnew
In a run off for a seat on Charleston City Council, Ginger Rosenberg spent $2,146 — most of it went to stamps and FedExKinkos. Her opponent, Dean Riegel, spent $3,600 — all of it to consultants. Guess who won.
Charleston City Paper |
Greg Hambrick |
03-17-2010 |
Politics
Undercover in 'Christian Country,' Gina Welch Pretended to Be an Evangelicalnew
While preparing for her baptism at Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church, Gina Welch was handed a checklist: She'd need a towel and a change of underwear.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
03-17-2010 |
Nonfiction
Can Oakland Go the Distance? After 25 Years, a Marathon Returnsnew
the Oakland Running Festival is scheduled for the weekend of March 26-28 and will include the first road marathon to be held in Oakland in more than 25 years. The event returns with an eye-popping new route and a menu of race choices.
East Bay Express |
Dan Schoenholz |
03-17-2010 |
Sports
Non-Discrimination Note Creates 'Fear and Anxiety' on UVA Campusnew
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli recently slapped second-year University of Virginia student Seth Kaye in the face. Not literally, but Kaye said that was how he felt when he awoke to an e-mail outlining a letter Cuccinelli sent to the state’s public colleges.
C-Ville Weekly |
Matt Deegan |
03-17-2010 |
LGBT
No Cost for Dredging South Fork Yet: Locals Weigh In on Possibilitiesnew
With the exception of a slip of the tongue by Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Chairman Mike Gaffney, last week’s public meeting on a dredging feasibility study for the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir kept talk of potential costs underwater.
C-Ville Weekly |
Brendan Fitzgerald |
03-17-2010 |
Environment
The Mexican Asks a New Mexicannew
The Alibi’s Joseph Baca responds to Gustavo Arellano's hard-hitting questions about the Land of Enchantment.
Weekly Alibi |
Joseph Baca |
03-16-2010 |
Race & Class
Tags: Joseph Baca, Gustavo Arellano
The New Normal: Once It's Policy, There's No Going Backnew
The sausage-making spectacle of the past year has produced a convoluted, forest-killing mess. The process was infuriating: the foot-dragging, the futile hand-holding of Republican "moderates," the ego-stroking, the backroom deals, the summer of Tea Parties.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
03-16-2010 |
Commentary
Prosecutors Weigh In on a Bill Would Make Child Neglect a Felony in Marylandnew
Lisae Jordan can tell stories about child abuse and neglect that would make most people's stomachs churn. Children tied to chairs by parents and not allowed to get up to go to the bathroom. Kids locked in closets during the day.
Baltimore City Paper |
Erin Sullivan |
03-16-2010 |
Children & Families
Homeless and Hungry: Portraits by Michael Northrupnew
"I think what interested me was their blatant exposure," the writer says of the men and women who use small squares of cardboard, or even just a plain Styrofoam cup, to make a very public appeal of need. To him, "they just screamed, hey, somebody take a picture."
Baltimore City Paper |
Michael Northrup |
03-16-2010 |
Economy
Aqua Velva Man: Success Means Never Having to Say You're Sorrynew
“Well, I’m not apologizing for anything,” said Mit Romney. (Mit downsized his name at the same time he downsized his domiciles, so people would forget that he is the richest guy to ever run for president.)
Salt Lake City Weekly |
D.P. Sorensen |
03-16-2010 |
Commentary
The LDS Church Eyes Barren Wetlands as a Future City Within Salt Lake Citynew
What is now home mostly to birds, mosquitoes and deer flies would eventually house up to 70,000 people in “a variety of neighborhoods with a range of housing types for a diverse population,” according to an update of the 2009 draft of the Northwest Quadrant Master Plan.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Katharine Biele |
03-16-2010 |
Religion
