AltWeeklies Wire
Pro-Evolution Forces Take an Unexpected Win at the Texas Board of Educationnew

The recent debate about how evolution should be taught in public schools revealed that the 15-member Texas State Board of Education is not, after all, necessarily dominated by right-wing religious fundamentalists.
Dallas Observer |
Kimberly Thorpe |
02-02-2009 |
Education
Dallas' Victory Park Struggles to Deliver a Winnew
Nearly three years after its first shops opened, Dallas' Victory Park still hasn't found itself. Even before the economy went south, the district often turned into a ghost town when the arena was dark.
Dallas Observer |
Matt Pulle |
02-02-2009 |
Housing & Development
Persistence Could Pay $1 Million Dividendnew
A curious Seattle hotelier is still without the Qwest Field details he asked for in 1997.
Seattle Weekly |
Rick Anderson |
02-02-2009 |
Housing & Development
'Clean Coal' Isn't Clean, But Is It Our Best Hope Against Climate Change?new
"Clean coal" is a contradiction in terms: Mining coal and burning it remain a dirty business. But is even cleaner coal a real, if distant, promise ... or merely a dangerous distraction?
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
02-02-2009 |
Environment
Infectious Debatenew
Infection rates for common sexually transmitted infections are up in Pittsburgh, and both sides of the abstinence-education debate claim the uptick shows the virtue in their way of looking at things.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Melissa Meinzer |
02-02-2009 |
Science
Ad-ded Value: The Super Bowl Is More Mythic Than Evernew

In a fragmented media market, the Super Bowl is about all we have in common anymore.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
02-02-2009 |
Media
California Lands Commission Kills Enviro-Supported Oil Dealnew
The California State Lands Commission voted down a potentially historic deal between Plains Exploration and Production (PXP) oil company and a cadre of Santa Barbara environmental leaders that would have granted new oil drilling permits within California state waters for the first time in 40 years.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Ethan Stewart |
02-02-2009 |
Environment
Not As Many Apply to UCSBnew
On the heels of the University of California’s announcement that it would be cutting freshman enrollment for the 2009-10 school year by 2,300 students, UCSB officials announced that the school received 54,758 applications for enrollment this coming fall.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Drew Mackie |
02-02-2009 |
Education
Goleta Residents, Planners Fret Over Condo Architecture, Beach Accessnew
The appearance of Goleta’s popular Haskell’s Beach has changed in recent years, and if higher-ups at Bacara Resort have their way, it will change yet even more.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Lara Cooper |
02-02-2009 |
Housing & Development
If Not for a Special Election, English Only Would Have Prevailed in Nashvillenew
It's heartening that the Nashville's progressives seem able to stop daydreaming about love and harmony long enough to run an effective campaign. But not by any stretch is this the dawning of a new day or a crippling blow to intolerance in our city.
Nashville Scene |
Jeff Woods |
01-30-2009 |
Policy Issues
Steve Ganaway: Business Mogul or Nashville's Numbers King?new
Listening to Nashville businessman Steve Ganaway talk earnestly about community development, it's hard to believe he's a man with the time — much less desire — to run a sprawling numbers game. Then again, Ganaway's business is show business, where perception and reality have always been worlds apart.
Nashville Scene |
P.J. Tobia |
01-30-2009 |
Business & Labor
A New 'Ban' Would Allow 20 Areas Citywide Thick With Billboardsnew
The Los Angeles city planning department’s proposed outdoor-advertising rules and billboard ban is not much of a ban at all.
L.A. Weekly |
Christine Pelisek |
01-30-2009 |
Housing & Development
Pot Reform Backlash in Massachusettsnew

Since the state's 2008 ballot initiative lowering penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana passed resoundingly, local law enforcement has been scrambling for unofficial overrides.
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Farone |
01-30-2009 |
Drugs
Will a New Safety Law Bankrupt Small Businesses?new

Many manufacturers and retailers of children's products, along with book publishers, artisans, concerned parents and consumers, even the American Library Association, have begun to panic about the monumental scope of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act's impact.
Arkansas Still Awaits the Biodiesel Boomnew

While production of biodiesel has exploded nationally -- largely because of federal subsidies -- the industry is off to a slow start in Arkansas: the Natural State remains a top 10 producer of soybeans, but it ranks only 20th in biodiesel production capacity.
Arkansas Times |
Paul Barton |
01-29-2009 |
Environment