AltWeeklies Wire
Will New Mexico Offer Drug Users Treatment Instead of Jail Time?new
There might be some good news on the horizon for those caught in the revolving door of drug addiction. Proposed state legislation would give judges the discretion to offer people with drug-possession charges a treatment program instead of jail time.
Weekly Alibi |
Carolyn Carlson |
02-09-2010 |
Drugs
Lawmakers Look to Shake Up the Recycling World, With Tons of Tires Nearbynew
"Our goal is to break even," Chris Houtchens says, describing the financial tightrope he walks each day so that the company he runs with his father, American Tire Exchange, can turn a profit selling usable tires in the states or in Mexico.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Anthony Lane |
02-09-2010 |
Environment
Health-Care Practitioners Explain Why They're Willing to Go to Jail for Health-Care Reformnew
As the discussion about health care has shifted from coverage for all citizens to a system that will force people to purchase private health insurance (without the "public option") pockets of unlikely activists are mobilizing.
Baltimore City Paper |
Erin Sullivan |
02-09-2010 |
Science
What Happens When the Person Who Gives Voice to Victims Becomes a Victim?new
As Connecticut's victim advocate, Michelle Cruz routinely handles cases involving threats of domestic violence. But the issue became intensely personal last September when she began getting vulgar, threatening, anonymous text messages on her cell phone.
New Haven Advocate |
Gregory B. Hladky |
02-09-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Baristas Say the Fight for Better Conditions is Uphill but Necessarynew
In December, Starbucks employees blocked the drive-through window at the company's coffee shop at Rosedale Street and 8th Avenue for about 20 minutes, in protest of the rising cost of their healthcare insurance, low wages, and a litany of other issues.
Fort Worth Weekly |
Eric Griffey |
02-09-2010 |
Business & Labor
Allegations of Racism Spark a Power Struggle at the Mutual Musicians Foundationnew
In December, the Mutual Musicians Foundation's 100-odd members installed a new board of directors. Many were new to the cause. In the weeks leading up to the election, a local singer suggested that the old board had allowed the foundation's legacy to be "pimped."
The Pitch |
David Martin |
02-09-2010 |
Race & Class
Valley Smokers Buy, Steal, and Inhale JWH-018 to Get Highnew
The herb on the counter resembles sage mixed with crumbled marijuana, but it's fuzzier and fluffier, filled with tiny brown hairs and minuscule crystals. It smells like dry leaves and black licorice and it's being sold in head shops as an "herbal incense blend."
Phoenix New Times |
Niki D'Andrea |
02-09-2010 |
Drugs
An Obsessive Patrol Cop Tried to Nail the Wrong Guy in the Baseline Killer Casenew
Phoenix police had arrested Mark Goudeau on September 6, 2006 (his 42nd birthday), on charges of sexually assaulting two sisters at a park near 31st Avenue and Baseline Road. The attacks on the sisters, one of whom was six months pregnant, had occurred one year earlier.
Phoenix New Times |
Paul Rubin |
02-09-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Where Running a Light and Killing Someone Does Not Automatically Mean You're in Troublenew
Steve Morrison probably never knew what hit him that April afternoon in 2008. After the swimming-pool company owner eased off the brakes of his green Saturn and headed south down Hillcroft across Westpark, a Nissan Frontier driven by a 28-year-old Salvadoran immigrant slammed into him.
Houston Press |
John Nova Lomax |
02-09-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Lobster Loot: Chinese New Year and Weather Contribute to Record Pricesnew
Even as the specter of new and improved Marine Protected Areas threatens to impact their way of life, Santa Barbara-based lobstermen are enjoying one of their most economically successful seasons in memory.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Ethan Stewart |
02-08-2010 |
Business & Labor
Look Closer at 'Environmentalism' and Economic Healthnew
Every January since 1969, speakers, writers and aged witnesses are asked to recall the offshore oil well blowouts. They’re always asked, "What was it like?” By now, shouldn’t the question be, “Is it still relevant?”
Santa Barbara Independent |
Robert Sollen |
02-08-2010 |
Environment
What Sort of Woman Reads 'Playboy'? Meet Peggy Wilkinsnew
Teen detective Nancy Drew, of all people, led Peggy Wilkins to Playboy. It was July 1978 in Michigan, and 13-year-old Peggy was a huge fan of the TV series. That summer the actress who played Nancy, Pamela Sue Martin, appeared on the cover of Playboy.
Chicago Reader |
Katie Buitrago |
02-08-2010 |
The War on Women
Can a Court Help Former GIs Find Justice at Home?new
From the man's physique and hair, Edward Lynch figured he might be military. Maybe from Fort Carson, the Army base down the road that lately seemed to be churning out a lot of veterans with screws loose. The papers were full of stories about Carson vets killing fellow soldiers.
Haitian Chaos: Of Course Aid is Difficultnew
Recently, an Italian official labeled the American response in Haiti "pathetic." And an NPR report described the food distribution of international agencies generally as "irregular, inadequate, and often violent and disorderly."
Seattle Weekly |
Nina Shapiro |
02-08-2010 |
Disasters
Child Support Collection Business Incurs Wrath of OAGnew
After more than six years of squabbling and litigation, the Office of the Attorney General in Texas ran Robert O'Donnell's child support collection company out of business, and if that wasn't enough, today, its attorneys are trying to toss him in jail.
Dallas Observer |
Sam Merten |
02-08-2010 |
Children & Families
