AltWeeklies Wire
A Proposed Law Could Widen the Gap Between Business and Labornew

The proposed Employee Free Choice Act would ease the rules for union organizing. With just 3.5 percent of its workers paying union dues, North Carolina is the least unionized state in the nation and in the crosshairs of the EFCA debate.
INDY Week |
Bob Geary |
03-05-2009 |
Business & Labor
Canada Should Bar or Prosecute George W Bush: Lawyernew

As George W. Bush’s St. Patrick’s Day visit to Calgary draws near, the federal government is facing pressure from activists and human rights lawyers to bar the former U.S. president from the country or prosecute him for war crimes and crimes against humanity once he steps on Canadian soil.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Jeremy Klaszus |
03-05-2009 |
International
In a Time of Growing Need, NYC's Homeless Are Running Out of Optionsnew

This winter, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration quietly declared a two-front campaign against the shelter system that was developed to assist with the persistent homelessness problem.
New York Press |
Matt Harvey |
03-05-2009 |
Economy
Tags: homelessness, New York City
The 'MinnPost' Model: Is It Sustainable?new
Beneath the optimism surrounding MinnPost's launch lingered an obvious question: Could this business model be sustainable? How to translate web traffic into enough cash flow to ensure financial independence? Sixteen months later, and deep into a nationwide recession, the question is even more apt.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Matt Snyders |
03-04-2009 |
Media
How Young Is Too Young For a Sex Change?new

Most children grow out of gender identity disorder by their teens. Because the diagnosis usually goes away, psychologists rarely recommend that a child with gender identity disorder live as the other sex. But in some cases, when young children are extremely depressed, even suicidal, an early switch may be the best option.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Erin Carlyle |
03-04-2009 |
LGBT
Tags: transgender youth
Bridge Tolls Will Add Stress to Bay Area's Casual Carpoolnew
Casual carpoolers are about to face a major culture shock. The Bay Area Toll Authority announced last week that it is mulling whether to impose a $2 to $3 toll on carpoolers to help balance its budget. Some fear the fee threatens the future of this morning incarnation of the Bay Area's do-it-yourself ingenuity.
SF Weekly |
Lauren Smiley |
03-04-2009 |
Transportation
Tags: transportation, Bay Area
What Would Clint Reilly Do If MediaNews Tries to Buy the 'Chronicle'?new
Two years ago, San Francisco real estate magnate Clint Reilly successfully blocked an attempt by Hearst Corporation and MediaNews to combine some of their local business and sales operations. That was then and this is now.
An Investigator Re-Encounters an Old Rival in the Latest Banking Crisisnew

Richard Newsom is campaigning against what he sees as corruption among overseers of America's savings and loan industry. He is perennially, and profanely, annoyed: Regulators today "lack both the stones and the expertise" to rein in rogue bankers, he claims.
Taking on Amazon.comnew
Berkeley Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner wants the giant online retailers to stop cheating both California and independent booksellers.
East Bay Express |
Robert Gammon |
03-04-2009 |
Business & Labor
As Economy Struggles, Nonprofits Must Get Creativenew
With donations and grant funding down, charities turn to "social entrepreneurship" to help pay the bills.
East Bay Express |
Cristi Hegranes |
03-04-2009 |
Economy
Tags: nonprofit funding
The Manhattan Project of Marijuananew

If pot is truly medicine, shouldn't it be standardized? Analytical Labs wants to test the potency and safety of California cannabis.
East Bay Express |
David Downs |
03-04-2009 |
Drugs
Miramar Landfill Swallows Great Whalenew
San Diego officials are faced with the timeless question of what to do with the carcass of a really big animal.
San Diego CityBeat |
David Silva |
03-04-2009 |
Animal Issues
Has the Nation's Former Meth Capital Really Turned a Corner?new
For the last dozen years, a concerted effort to suppress methamphetamine use in San Diego County has, at times, been like a Whac-a-Mole game — just as one problem’s solved, another pops up. But a report card released last week by the county’s Methamphetamine Strike Force touts success.
San Diego CityBeat |
Kelly Davis |
03-04-2009 |
Drugs
San Antionio Airport Police Whistleblower Gets Fired and Takes His Case to the Citynew
The decision by Chief Ron Bruner to terminate Corporal Russell Martin exposed some emotional wounds that have been mounting within San Antonio’s Airport Police Department.
San Antonio Current |
Gilbert Garcia |
03-04-2009 |
Business & Labor
How Top Dailies Are Killing Cartooning
This is the golden age of editorial cartooning — but you'd never know it to read the daily newspaper.