AltWeeklies Wire
No Luck Club: Seattle Authorities Crack Down on Asian Dance Clubnew
Who is Justin Toa? A psychotic arsonist? A dangerous gangster? Hardly--he's a 20-year-old Asian guy with two-toned hair and a spotty traffic record from his teenage years. Why are the authorities after him? Because he runs a 16-and-over hip hop club.
The Portland Mercury |
Allie Holly-Gottlieb |
12-31-2009 |
Performance
Know Your Decade: Take Our Quiz and Kiss the '00s Goodbyenew
Think you're a genius at remembering everything that happened over the last 10 years? Take this quiz of pop culture and news from the last decade to see how much you really know.
The Portland Mercury |
Wm. Steven Humphrey, Patrick Alan Coleman and Mercury staff |
12-31-2009 |
Commentary
Proposals Target the Gridlock Era in Sacramentonew
A gaggle of good-government activists aims to turn California’s ongoing budget crisis into an opportunity for reform in 2010. Fat-cat corporations, political gadflies, grassroots campaigners and the state’s richest foundations are all in the mix.
Monterey County Weekly |
Robin Urevich |
12-31-2009 |
Politics
Doing it Green: A Bat Mitzvah Fished from the Recycling Binnew
Two days before Sadie Rapp was set to lead the Chapel Hill Kehillah’s congregation and celebrate her bat mitzvah, her transition to Jewish adulthood, the Rapp’s house was full of repurposed garbage.
The Year of Staying In: In Lean Times, TV is a Saving Gracenew
You've got to laugh to keep from crying, and in 2009, as bad news streamed constantly on the cable news channels, I valued sitcoms more than ever. Thank God there were comedies worthy of our time.
Why it was Smart to Rescue San Diego's Urban Foresternew
If you know and appreciate trees in San Diego, you’ve probably heard the name Drew Potocki. While the city of Los Angeles boasts two urban forestry departments, San Diego must make do with one urban forester. That would be Potocki, who 13 years ago basically created the position from thin air.
San Diego CityBeat |
John R. Lamb |
12-30-2009 |
Environment
It was a Low, Dishonest Decadenew
Throughout the decade, while Osama bin Laden remained out of reach, gloating, Americans channeled their resentments by turning against one another. You heard it on the talk shows, where loathing gained the highest ratings.
San Antonio Current |
Steven G. Kellman |
12-30-2009 |
Commentary
Music Interview: The Clockmennew
As a band, The Clockmen is a perfect example of the punk-rock conformist contradiction, and the music that comes from that tug of war. Punk has always championed the new, the different, the unique. But as a movement, that's nearly impossible to sustain. The Clockmen accept the challenge.
City Newspaper |
Frank De Blase |
12-30-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
For Paroled Sex Offenders in San Francisco, Only One Choice: Life on the Streetsnew
In 2006, voters passed Jessica's Law, a ballot measure promising to better track people who'd committed sex crimes. Such people would be banned from living 2,000 feet from a park or school. In densely populated San Francisco, that basically means they can't live anywhere at all.
SF Weekly |
Lauren Smiley |
12-30-2009 |
Crime & Justice
The Gay Place: We've Come a Long Way, But Where Are We Exactly?new
Now that everyone in America knows, lives next door to, is related to/married to/divorced from, or gave birth to an actual gay person, isn’t it time for a long, collective sigh of relief that we didn’t turn into pillars of salt for dancing with wild abandon to the Village People?
San Antonio Current |
William Jack Sibley |
12-30-2009 |
LGBT
The Awkward Hit-Makers: Berkeley's The Cataracsnew
There's a studied, left-brained pragmatism to The Cataracs' approach: Perhaps because they don't have classical backgrounds or industry connections, they've spent years examining and analyzing what it takes to make a hit and applying this knowledge to every new track.
East Bay Express |
Ellen Cushing |
12-30-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Using Yoga to Help Young People Break the Cycle of Violencenew
The Oakland-based Niroga Institute seeks to take yoga out of the world of the pale, privileged, and pliable. Giving thought to where, how, and to whom yoga is taught, the institute aims to make the practice a tool for healing communities at their sorest points.
East Bay Express |
Marcy Rein |
12-30-2009 |
Sports
Eat it Up: Charleston's Top 10 Food Trends of the Decadenew
"Locavorism" has been a wonderful thing for Charleston dining. Wadmalaw Island has bloomed as the vegetable garden of Charleston, and there are now enough farmers' markets open around the area that you can shop at one just about every day of the week.
Charleston City Paper |
Jeff Allen and Robert Moss |
12-30-2009 |
Food+Drink
Building a Better Decade: Step One, Turn That Frown Upside Downnew
It does no good to look back (just ask George Bush). In these pages, we're laying out a blueprint to make the Teens the best they can be. Step 1: Turn that frown upside down. Step 2: Please keep those clippers, and any recording device, away from Britney. Thanks.
Charleston City Paper |
Greg Hambrick |
12-30-2009 |
Commentary
Favorite Books of 2009 (Yes, We Still Read Books)new
"What? Reading?" In a year when we were all too busy tweeting on our iPhones to cook a meal, even the ever-present Kindle-coma is preferable to no reading at all. So, if you're willing to stop playing Farmville for a minute, here are a few books worth skimming at the local bookshop.
Dig Boston |
Rachael Katz |
12-30-2009 |
Books
