AltWeeklies Wire
Some Mentally Ill People Say No to Pharmaceutical Solutionsnew
The MadPride movement is a revolt against the numbing of peculiar personalities with powerful chemicals. Those who take this path -- sometimes with the help of medical professionals, sometimes in defiance of them -- say they would rather embrace their madness then try to stifle it.
An Eye for a McFlurry: One Terrible Reason to Lose a Body Partnew
Brandon Henderson lost his left eyeball over a McFlurry. On the evening of Feb. 15, authorities say, Khalif Lewis, an 18-year-old cashier at a West Philadelphia McDonald's, attacked the 35-year-old Henderson as he attempted to leave the restaurant after an argument over whether he could substitute a dessert item for french fries.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Mike Newall |
07-20-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Health Care on Life Support: New Mexicans Tell Us What Reform Looks Likenew
Froozan Parwana is one of more than 400,000 New Mexicans without health insurance. Her trip to the emergency room last summer, which cost more than $300, was a harsh introduction to what awaits patients without medical coverage. The hospital bill forced Parwana to take fewer college classes.
Weekly Alibi |
Simon McCormack |
07-20-2009 |
Science
L.A.'s Yawning Loophole for Pot Dispensaries Spawns a Woodstock Economynew
In 2005, every city in California was busy adopting ordinances to allow for medical-marijuana storefronts while keeping out the bad actors and illegal peddlers. But the Los Angeles City Council couldn't get it done.
L.A. Weekly |
Daniel Heimpel |
07-17-2009 |
Drugs
Life And Death on the Pajaro River Leveenew
Hidden along the banks of the Pajaro River in the brush and high grass, you'll find the casitas -- little houses -- built from tarps, bungee cords, tree limbs and blankets, constructed and tended to by a chronically homeless population of monolingual Spanish speakers.
Good Times Santa Cruz |
Jessica Lussenhop |
07-17-2009 |
Housing & Development
Why the Health Care Lobby Opposes the Public Optionnew
As a caravan rolled to Washington, Health Care for America Now's message about the incredibly complicated legislation had been reduced to one simple message: Whatever emerged, the bill must contain the strong public insurance option that Obama proposed -- and the private insurers, in league with the Republicans, were trying to kill.
Localwashing: The Corporate Co-Opt of Localnew
With Americans' new focus on buying products made close to home, corporations are moving quickly to co-opt the term "local." But if everything is local, is anything local?
Gambit |
Stacy Mitchell |
07-16-2009 |
Business & Labor
Tribe Lays Groundwork for Condor's Return to Redwood Countrynew
Under orders from its elders, California's largest Native American tribe, the Yurok, is working to bring back one of redwood country's long-lost inhabitants -- prey-go-neesh, the endangered California condor.
North Coast Journal |
Heidi Walters |
07-16-2009 |
Environment
Will Wolves Be Saved Under New Mexico's Recovery Program?new
Under a questionable partnership, the Fish and Wildlife Service has managed to give away its statutory responsibility to recover endangered species to a consortium of agencies, allege critics of the way wolf introduction is being managed in the southwest. Wolves are being removed -- or killed -- by the very people charged with reintroducing the animals to the wild.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Laura Paskus |
07-16-2009 |
Animal Issues
Residents Bemoan the Heat at Colorado Springs Homeless Centernew
Residents of the R.J. Montgomery New Hope Center say the center's conditions are unsanitary and unsafe, while the director swears it's cool and clean.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Anthony Lane |
07-16-2009 |
Housing & Development
The Orlando Police Beatnew
July 3, 7:44 am: Officer Madden describes an armed robbery suspect as wearing a "camo snow hat." If one wanted effective camouflage in the snow, wouldn't said hat be white?
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffery C. Billman |
07-16-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Obama Covers Up a Dozen My Lais
Obama sort of announces kind of an investigation of Bush's biggest single war crime. It's more of the same for a story the media has ignored for six or seven years.
An Oakland Think Tank Says the Federal Climate Bill Will Do More Harm Than Goodnew
The Breakthrough Institute, which has become one of the most vocal opponents of the climate bill sponsored by Democratic congressmen Henry Waxman and Edward Markey, argues that the legislation fails to generate enough investment in green energy because it offers too many corporate giveaways.
East Bay Express |
Robert Gammon |
07-15-2009 |
Environment
A San Diego Case Sheds Light on the Messy World of DUI Prosecutionnew
In April, San Diego's city attorney declined to file drunk-driving charges against local TV sportscaster Kyle Kraska, despite a police-station breathalyzer test that put Kraska's blood-alcohol content just above California's legal limit. Kraska's attorney said the case was dismissed because of police error, though city officials would say only that prosecutors felt they couldn't prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
San Diego CityBeat |
Kelly Davis |
07-15-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Minneapolis Spending $200K to Promote Tap Waternew
The critics of the TapMPLS project ignore the fact that promoting tap water has the ability to make the city millions.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Bradley Campbell |
07-15-2009 |
Environment
