AltWeeklies Wire
The Day the Music Died: The End of Indie 103.1new
Henry Rollins, music director Mark "Mr. Shovel" Sovel and DJ Darren Revell talk about the shutdown of LA's improbable and consistently surprising rock radio station.
L.A. Weekly |
Randall Roberts |
01-23-2009 |
Media
The Web Show for Misfit Teenage Girls and Women in Their 30s Who Like to Knitnew
Each five-minute weekly episode of Cute With Chris is now viewed by 100,000 to a million people, depending on where it lands on global search engines. As a result, Chris Leavins sardonically describes himself as both a cult leader and a microcelebrity.
L.A. Weekly |
Steven Leigh Morris |
01-23-2009 |
Tech
An Oakland Teacher Drops In Unannounced at the Homes of Underperforming Studentsnew
Primarily intended to encourage parental involvement, English teacher Channing Woodsum's visits offer him a glimpse into students' living conditions, particularly notable in a school where many children come from communities plagued by violence and poverty.
East Bay Express |
Matthew Green |
01-23-2009 |
Education
Nova Scotia's Popular Environment Minister Gets Shuffled Out for a Less-Acclaimed Picknew
The shocker in Rodney MacDonald's recent cabinet shuffle is the replacement of environment minister Mark Parent with veteran David Morse, who leaves natural resources. It's a sign of an urgent environmental crisis that Morse considers this a promotion.
The Coast, Halifax's Weekly |
Chris Benjamin |
01-23-2009 |
Politics
Weight a Minute: Are Heavy Trucks Getting Fair Treatment in Vermont?new
Heavy fines slapped on truckers for violating town-road weight limits often amount to revenue-raising scams on the part of local officials, charges the owner of two Northeast Kingdom logging companies.
Seven Days |
Kevin J. Kelley |
01-23-2009 |
Policy Issues
Shades of Gray: Confusion Reigns in the Wake of Tennessee Coal-Ash Spillnew
TVA's Dec. 22 coal-ash spill attracted an array of scientists, attorneys, politicians, and provocateurs to Kingston, Tenn., including environmental advocate Erin Brockovich who hosted a town hall meeting.
The Memphis Flyer |
Chris Davis |
01-23-2009 |
Disasters
Embracing Green Growth: L'eft Bank Wine's Bio-Fueled Fleetnew
Whether it's in the form of government regulation, consumer demand or simply one's conscience, concern about environmental sustainability is rearranging the way we do commerce. But making a strategic transition from traditional business to green business is fraught with challenges.
Shepherd Express |
Sarah Biondich |
01-23-2009 |
Food+Drink
The Polka Dot Lives on for Animal Collectivenew
Animal Collective make music that’s sometimes discordant garage rock, sometimes more like the most unrestrained Beach Boys, sometimes nothing like rock or pop at all. Their albums are a welter of found sounds and instruments, each treated and warped and rolled inside-out until they’re unrecognizable. But there’s beauty and joy and life there, too.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Trinie Dalton |
01-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Disappearing Ink: Hope for Editorial Cartoonistsnew
It's been the best of times, and the worst of times, for editorial cartooning. The demographics and styles of the cartoonists have never been more diverse. Yet the field has been disappearing, with newspapers eliminating positions at a rate of more than one a month across the country in the last year.
Ventura County Reporter |
Steve Greenberg |
01-23-2009 |
Media
Gaza = Warsaw?: Americans Should Unite to Stop Israel's Shoahnew
The shoah that the Israelis have brought to Gaza is being carried out with our phosphorus bombs, our DIME fusion bombs and our high-tech rocketry purchased with our $3 billion a year in foreign aid.
North Bay Bohemian |
Peter Byrne |
01-23-2009 |
Commentary
'My Private War': The Things They Carrynew
Norman Bussel's beautifully constructed, emotionally devastating account of being a prisoner of war in Germany during WWII is a tale too rarely told, one whose import should have immediate and direct consequences on current U.S. policy.
Eugene Weekly |
Suzi Steffen |
01-22-2009 |
Nonfiction
Portland Mayor's Sex Scandal Strikes Backnew
Two weeks to the day after taking his oath of office as Portland's first gay mayor, Sam Adams admitted that he'd lied about the nature of his sexual relationship with teenage legislative intern Beau Breedlove, and that he had coached Breedlove to lie about it on his behalf.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
01-22-2009 |
Politics
Boozing Through the Ages: An Inebriated 'History' of Drinking in Portlandnew
Sure, we can drink. We can drink like champions. But that doesn't make us special. People have been drinking in Portland since it was little more than a hardscrabble tent town cut from the banks of the Willamette.
The Portland Mercury |
Patrick Alan Coleman |
01-22-2009 |
Food+Drink
Salinas Calls In the Big Guns to Quell Rash of Gang Violencenew
Reacting to a stark spike in shootings that has left six people dead in the past two weeks, Salinas leaders brought in the uniformed cavalry and elevated their peace-building rhetoric. But the beefed-up patrols will likely only quiet gunfire temporarily.
Monterey County Weekly |
Zachary Stahl |
01-22-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Meet the Retrosexuals ... Againnew
Enabled by Facebook, more people are rewinding their own lives, digging into their past to emerge with a current romantic partner.
Portland Phoenix |
Deirdre Fulton |
01-22-2009 |
Culture
