AltWeeklies Wire
Turf War: Who Should Control Charter Schools?new
Throughout Florida, charter schools are exploding in popularity. Their numbers have climbed 300 percent in the last eight years -- from 118 in 2000 to 358 now -- and there are 17 in Orange County.
Orlando Weekly |
Adriana Ruiz |
10-07-2008 |
Education
Trash Haulers and Pols Care About Only One Kind of Greennew
The trash hauler in Broward County gets richer by not recycling recyclable materials, and if you believe the environmentalists, the campaign coffers of elected officials get richer by not demanding that the hauler recycle.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Thomas Francis |
09-30-2008 |
Environment
The Real Girlfriend Experience: My Hooker Romancenew
Call it some sort of half-baked sociological experiment: What happens when you take a hooker on a regular date? What happens when you share a walk on the beach or a piece of pizza instead of, oh, something that ends in job?
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Michael J. Mooney |
09-23-2008 |
Culture
Happytown: Palin, Same-Sex Marriage, and Morenew
The latest Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters indicates that only 55 percent of the 1,427 voters questioned support the superfluous Amendment 2, the so-called marriage amendment.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman, Billy Manes and Deanna Morey |
09-18-2008 |
Commentary
Violent South American Thieves are Stealing Millions in Precious Gemsnew
For years, South Florida has been one of the worst areas in the nation for jewelry theft. Now the South American Theft Group Intelligence Network wants to join law enforcement agencies in taking on gangs of illegal Colombian immigrants terrorizing jewelers across the US with near-impunity.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Brantley Hargrove |
09-03-2008 |
Economy
The Photoshop™ Copnew
Ken Kokotek mocked his superiors on the Internet. Now he's paying for it.
Creative Loafing (Tampa) |
Alex Pickett |
08-27-2008 |
Policy Issues
Delma Mercado Steals from the Poor to Pay Her Mortgagenew
Like so many other Americans these days, Delma Mercado let her mortgage get the best of her. Unlike most other estados-unidenses, she dreamed up a seemingly rock-solid solution to her financial woes. One problem: It involved stealing rent from the poorest tenants in Hialeah, Fla.
Miami New Times |
Tim Elfrink |
08-25-2008 |
Economy
Pro Poker Hurts: It's Not All Glitz and Glory at the Tablenew
Harold Persaud is one of dozens of men -- and a few women -- who go to the legal poker rooms across South Florida every day, hoping to grind out the money to pay the bills. They go to places such as Pompano Park, Mardi Gras, and Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, to card rooms full of businessmen who cut out of the office early, young men wearing hooded sweatshirts and listening to iPods, foul-smelling degenerate addicts, and more retirees than a Sunday buffet.
Miami New Times |
Michael J. Mooney |
08-11-2008 |
Recreation
Someone Stop Charlie Crist and His Plan to Sell Our Highwaynew
Stop the Florida governor from hawking Alligator Alley to foreign companies. Stop him from leasing the 78 miles of fenced and flat highway stretching across the Everglades to investors who will bleed motorists dry with higher tolls and no accountability to the people.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Bob Norman |
08-05-2008 |
Commentary
DNA Has All but Cleared Bill Dillon of a 27-Year-Old Murder; The State Doesn't Seem to Carenew
Add the recent DNA exoneration to all the problems associated with his farce of a trial nearly three decades ago, and one has to wonder why Bill Dillon still sits in state prison.
Orlando Weekly |
Deanna Morey |
07-31-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Gay or Straight? Pick a Side Before Joining a Lesbian Softball Leaguenew
As a woman married to man, I'm an anomaly here in the South Florida Amateur Athletic Association, which defines itself on the web as "a gay and lesbian softball league ... for both gay and non-gay participants."
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Amy Guthrie |
07-29-2008 |
Sports
Polyamorous Lovers Keep Their Options, and Their Relationships, Opennew
In the mainstream, monogamy has been a cultural assumption on par with monotheism, air conditioning and covered sex parts. There have been strains of resistance throughout the 20th century -- swingers, lesbian collectives, polyfidelitous communes -- but the term "polyamory" didn't appear until the 1990s.
Creative Loafing (Sarasota) |
Justin Richards |
07-24-2008 |
Culture
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist Gets a Hero's Medal for Bailing Out Big Sugarnew
Crist's plan to buy U.S. Sugar for $1.75 billion has been described by Florida newspapers as "bold," "ambitious," and "grand." Now it's time to throw "stupid" and "irresponsible" into the mix.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Bob Norman |
07-22-2008 |
Commentary
Women Spend Big Money Tricking Out Cars, Toonew
A growing number of South Florida women spend tens of thousands of dollars to pimp their rides in hopes of sponsorship, trophies, and national recognition.
Miami New Times |
Tamara Lush |
06-30-2008 |
Culture
Is That Beef You're Eating Really Safe?new
The Sunshine State sits squarely in the middle of the controversy over the safety of the meat supply. A growing number of people -- many of them doctors and scientists -- question whether American beef is safe from bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as BSE or mad cow disease. Little testing and lenient feed regulations mean no one can answer the question for sure.
Orlando Weekly |
Deanna Morey |
06-26-2008 |
Food+Drink
