AltWeeklies Wire
Preservation Push Off of Mexico's Coastnew
Off the coast of Mexico, government agencies and citizens fight to save an endangered porpoise.
Tucson Weekly |
Irene Messina |
01-15-2009 |
Environment
How to React to the Recession in '09new

"Live during a good year as if it were a bad year," urges financial planner Kate Wilusz. And during a bad year she advises staying strong, keeping close track of every cent spent, and investing in real estate, stocks, and bonds.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
01-15-2009 |
Economy
Tags: economic issues, Personal Finance
Getting the Lead Out Causes a Freakout for Toy Retailersnew
Like their counterparts nationwide, Portland toy makers and retailers are raising hell about the vagueness, harsh penalties and cost of adhering to a federal law set to take effect Feb. 10. Estimates for testing range from $40 to $4,000, according to the Handmade Toy Alliance, a national nonprofit.
Willamette Week |
Dan Green |
01-15-2009 |
Business & Labor
Facebook Becomes an Israeli-Palestinian 'Battleground'new
The war in Israel and Gaza has quickly expanded to Facebook, where backers of both camps are using many of the social networking site's features to voice their opinions in graphic and sometimes absurd ways.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Piatetsky |
01-14-2009 |
Media
Kill Your Antennanew
The DTV transition doesn't affect you. And we shouldn't be doing it anyway -- we should get all the spectrum back from the TV companies and use it to extend internet access to everyone.
Portland Phoenix |
Jeff Inglis |
01-14-2009 |
Media
Blood Money in the New Orleans DA's Officenew
A $15 million judgment against New Orleans' DA's office after a man who spent 14 years on death row was found not guilty of the crime for which he was convicted has new District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro on the financial ropes. And that may only be the beginning.
Gambit |
David Winkler-Schmit |
01-14-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Can Bob Cerasoli Help Clean Up City Gov't in New Orleans?new

When Cerasoli arrived to set up the city's first-ever Office of the Inspector General, he needed inventory tags to keep track of computers, monitors and other workplace valuables. He called City Hall to get some. It was one of his first, but not his last, surprises when it came to city government.
Gambit |
Kevin Allman |
01-14-2009 |
Policy Issues
Who's Killing the Plug-In Hybrid?new

The same California agency that drove the electric car off a cliff is now poised to wreck a new Berkeley company that triples the gas mileage of a Toyota Prius.
East Bay Express |
Robert Gammon |
01-14-2009 |
Transportation
Have Our Schools Rushed to Judgment On the Safety of Synthetic Turf?new
Converting grass playing fields to synthetic turf ones has been a growing trend nationwide. But possible health risks have led to debate in many communities. Locally, however, the debate has hardly been fierce.
C-Ville Weekly |
Chiara Canzi |
01-14-2009 |
Environment
How a Mother of Two Ended Up in a Plot to Smuggle High-Tech Gear to Irannew

Shahrzad Mir Gholikhan maintains that she became accidentally caught up in her shady ex-husband's international plot. The feds have a different theory: That she was an operative of the Iranian government working to put U.S. security at risk.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Deirdra Funcheon |
01-13-2009 |
International
Snowstorms Don't Mean Climate Change Threat Has Passednew
Andrew Weaver, a lead author with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, explained that whenever a cold streak hits, some people question accepted theories of climate change and grow skeptical about global warming. But a few days of snow does not mean that the Earth is not getting warmer. "People mix up weather and climate," Weaver says.
The Georgia Straight |
Travis Lupick |
01-13-2009 |
Environment
How Slot Machines Are Secretly Designed to Seduce and Destroy Younew

Slots-only gambling parlors located in highly populated areas are precisely the model that Foxwoods and SugarHouse casinos hope to replicate in Philadelphia. Gov. Ed Rendell and others have portrayed slots as a safe medium. The opposite is true.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Isaiah Thompson |
01-13-2009 |
Economy
Israel Must Make Peace with Neighborsnew
The war against Hamas in Gaza looks more and more like the three-week Israeli war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006, which could hardly be called a success. It will last about as long. It will kill about as many Arabs, probably a thousand or so. And it will end with Hamas, like Hezbollah, still able to fire rockets at Israel.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
01-13-2009 |
International
Can Jim MacMillan's iPhone Save Journalism?new
MacMillan, who left the Daily News in September after 17 years, has transformed himself into a oneāman band of Philadelphia journalism.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Joel Mathis |
01-13-2009 |
Media
With Domestic Violence on the Rise, Baltimore Finds New Ways to Help its Victimsnew
This year, a new Family Crimes Unit was created in the Baltimore Police Department to investigate domestic-violence cases. And Mercy Medical Center has new technology that is helping to document abuse. Both aim to help women (and men) get out of abusive relationships before they become deadly. It's not an easy goal to meet.
Baltimore City Paper |
Anna Ditkoff |
01-13-2009 |
Crime & Justice