AltWeeklies Wire
The Dirty Truth About 'Clean' Electionsnew
It turns out that even during these tough economic times, you and I are footing the bill for politicians to purchase home-office supplies, sushi dinners, even the occasional GPS system. And our candidates for office get to keep that stuff when the campaign is over — the expenses in question are, apparently, perfectly legal.
Phoenix New Times |
Sarah Fenske |
04-08-2009 |
Politics
Kelly Hansen Joins 'Hot Blooded' Rockers Foreignernew
After more lineup changes than the average Astros season, Mick Jones reconvened Foreigner in 2004 and enlisted Kelly Hansen, formerly of the '80s L.A. heavy-metal band Hurricane, to sing lead.
Houston Press |
Chris Gray |
04-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
It's Easy for a Homeowner's Payments to Fall Through the Cracksnew
Nancy Perez discovered that the worst thing to happen to her home was not a fire, but mismanagement among the mortgage servicers -- the companies charged with collecting monthly payments -- on her $76,000 loan.
Houston Press |
Craig Malisow |
04-08-2009 |
Economy
Jamie Stewart's Infinite Sadness Is Exhaustingnew
Jamie Stewart is a morgue-serious songwriter. And yet it's impossible to take the Xiu Xiu frontman seriously. The ache in his indie rock takes introspective moping to such an exaggerated extreme it's difficult to endure with a straight face.
SF Weekly |
Jennifer Maerz |
04-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
JROTC Is Under Fire in S.F. Schoolsnew
It has been a quintessential only-in-San Francisco battle -- the military ambassadors playing the rogues, and the lefty progressives as the establishment -- and one that will not die.
Leslie Hall Is Known for Electro-Dance Pop Beats and Gem Sweatersnew
Though Leslie and the LY's' music is similar to other alternative-electro types, their inspiration remains in the craft-store and thrift-store aisles, with a little (clothing-specific) party mood thrown in.
Gambit |
The Gambit |
04-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Electro-Maestro Dan Deacon Unveils an Android Symphonynew
The unruly Baltimore DIY artists' collective Wham City was evicted in 2007, and the scope of Bromst in turn reflects a post-party Deacon.
Gambit |
Noah Bonaparte Pais |
04-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Gov. Bobby Jindal's Top Donors Have Access to Millions of Dollars in State Worknew
Jindal has made such an issue of his own ethical purity that when he does what other governors have routinely done — reward campaign contributors with state work or appointments — it raises eyebrows. And make no mistake: Jindal has used the power of his office to reward friends as much as any of his predecessors.
A Proposed Cold-Storage Facility Has French Quarter Folks Calling Fowlnew
The Port of New Orleans and a local neighborhood group are at odds over the port's efforts to renovate the Gov. Nicholls/Esplanade wharves into a cold storage facility that uses anhydrous ammonia to blast-freeze packages of chicken, which will then be shipped up the Mississippi River.
Gambit |
David Winkler-Schmit |
04-08-2009 |
Housing & Development
Broken Marriage: A Timeline of the Landmark Hotel Tragedynew
Charlottesville's Landmark Hotel started as a $30 million project that even the Board of Architectural Review could love. Now, only Mother Nature is working on the skeletal tower that stands as a sardonic reminder of the times.
C-Ville Weekly |
Will Goldsmith |
04-08-2009 |
Housing & Development
Free Speech Is Unchained with the 2009 Muzzle Awardsnew
Usually it's a good thing to receive a free t-shirt and get your name in the paper, but not if you're a winner of a Muzzle Award from Charlottesville's Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.
C-Ville Weekly |
Wistar Watts Murray |
04-08-2009 |
Policy Issues
The U.S. Border Patrol Is Getting Lost in the Weedsnew
Border Patrol officials contend that an invasive plant called carrizo cane is blocking their view of the river and of Mexico. The patrol is proposing to spray herbicide along the river from a helicopter to wipe out the cane, angering residents and dividing Laredo's City Council.
The Texas Observer |
Melissa del Bosque |
04-08-2009 |
Immigration
The Strange and Scary Story of the North Central Texas Fusion Systemnew
Fusion centers arose amid post-9/11 efforts to get local and state law enforcement involved in anti-terrorism. The meteoric rise of this confoundingly complex and patchwork system has scary implications for privacy and civil liberties.
The Texas Observer |
Forrest Wilder |
04-08-2009 |
Policy Issues
Curtis Severns Is Serving 27 Years for an Arson He Almost Certainly Didn't Commitnew
Over the past 15 years, many unscientific assumptions about how fire spreads have turned out to be wrong. Using newer methods, an arson expert has helped exonerate dozens of people wrongly convicted of arson. He believes Severns was railroaded.
The Texas Observer |
Dave Mann |
04-08-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Technology Trumps Story in Eye-Sizzling Glorynew
DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens doesn't have the soul, energy or wit of Kung Fu Panda (or any of the Pixar flicks for that matter), but with its eye-popping animation and Seth Rogen putting in overtime, it's a pretty good time ... if you see it, and this is important, in 3-D.
Metro Times |
Jeff Meyers |
04-07-2009 |
Reviews
