AltWeeklies Wire
Wall St. Demands Earth-Friendly Buildings, but Main St. Doesn'tnew
Demand for sustainable living remains low, and even during the height of the housing boom, homebuilders didn’t really go for the green. So why do executives and taxpayers demand environmentally sensitive buildings, and then go home to their wasteful old houses?
San Diego CityBeat |
Eric Wolff |
07-30-2008 |
Housing & Development
Experts Ponder the Future of Small-Town Daily Papersnew
It's not breaking news, but daily rags are taking a beating. If the information age isn't kind to "offline" products of the fourth estate in urban areas, what's happening with newsprint in other markets? With subscriptions and profit margins dwindling, what will be tomorrow's news for smaller-market dailies?
Oklahoma Gazette |
Rob Collins |
07-30-2008 |
Media
Last Chance for Daily Papers: Close Their Websites
Daily newspapers have embraced the "information wants to be free" ethos of the internet, and it has led them to the brink of ruin. The answer? Make the news they give away now expensive and scarce.
Blunt Truth: Ten Years in the Life of a Local Drug Dealernew
Seems like a lot of us are buying weed. So I ask you, how well do you know your dealer? How well do you know what he goes through? (How much do you really want to know?) Meet "Mr. Dealer" -- he's 26 years old and has been selling weed for over 10 years.
C-Ville Weekly |
J. Tobias Beard |
07-30-2008 |
Drugs
New Mexico Jail-Based Charter School is First of its Kind in the USnew
Named for a man who worked to promote literacy and education in the jail (and who wore a Santa suit during Christmas family days there), the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center aims to graduate some of the estimated 40 percent of inmates without diplomas.
Weekly Alibi |
Marisa Demarco |
07-29-2008 |
Crime & Justice
A Not-Independent Analyst Might Have Skewed Media Coverage of Sprintnew
In June, when Sprint introduced the Instinct, its rival to the iPhone, industry analyst Jeff Kagan gave the launch a good review. The glowing review shouldn't have been much of a surprise -- that's what Sprint has paid him to do.
Homeland Security Won't Let a Former IRA Man Out of Prisonnew
After living in the U.S. for 25 years, Pol Brennan is now stuck on the Texas-Mexico border.
Houston Press |
John Nova Lomax |
07-29-2008 |
Immigration
I Want My Midwife!new
The list of Orange Count hospitals that allow midwife-assisted births just got shorter -- but moms-to-be and midwives aren't taking it lying down.
It's Been a Year Since Steven 'Butter' Miller Was Killed. Does Anyone Remember?new
When Butter was shot dead by police -- shot at 85 times, hit about 20 -- he was high, standing on a corner and waving a loaded gun. He hadn't pointed it at anyone, or if he had, it had been completely accidental, coincidental, because Butter was blank-eyed, detached from the world.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Tom Namako and Doron Taussig |
07-29-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Contract Killers: A Public/Private Partnership Goes Horribly Wrong in Iraqnew
Staff Sgt. Ryan D. Maseth was electrocuted while taking a shower in Iraq. His death, along with at least a dozen other soldiers who have met the same fate, is a tragic, and chillingly literal, symbol of what writer Naomi Klein calls "the Shock Doctrine." In her book of the same title, Klein argues that for modern corporations, wars and other disasters are just part of the business model.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Chris Potter |
07-29-2008 |
War
Tags: Iraq, KBR, Naomi Klein, death, privitization, corporate power, war & peace, The Shock Doctrine
Does Ct.'s Insurance Plan for Middle-Class Families Threaten the Health of its Poorest Citizens?new
Dozens of independent health care advocates say the Charter Oak Health Plan -- a new health care plan aimed at healthy middle-class adults -- is threatening to destabilize the state Medicaid program that serves some of the poorest, most at-risk populations.
New Haven Advocate |
Andy Bromage |
07-29-2008 |
Science
Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell is Urging a Stronger Effort to Enforce Anti-Sweatshop Policiesnew
Pennsylvania is the first state to pledge its support for a proposed anti-sweatshop consortium, made up of states, counties and municipalities from across the country. "Rendell has taken the leadership of states nationally," says Kenneth Miller, who has long been active in local anti-sweatshop campaigns.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Adam Fleming |
07-28-2008 |
Business & Labor
Chaos and Competition Cause Santa Barbara Cabbies to Fear for Their Futurenew
Despite the hard work of taxicab drivers to keep the city safe at night and moving during the day, they're complaining that they're being treated as second-class citizens by City Hall, which has approved unprecedented numbers of taxi companies and cabs in recent years yet done little to accommodate the growth.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Matt Kettmann |
07-28-2008 |
Transportation
Ken Ortiz Hopes No One in Chicago Will Ever Simply Demolish a Building Againnew
Ortiz is a contractor who takes down buildings and saves almost all the pieces. After doing construction for 25 years and throwing away "tons of good building materials," he delights in being able to save 23-foot-long two-by-sixes for reuse as two-by-sixes. And pretty much everybody else is delighted too -- environmentalists, preservationists, antiques dealers, even the folks who live around the houses he's taking down.
Chicago Reader |
Harold Henderson |
07-28-2008 |
Housing & Development
Cowboy Mike: The Ladykillernew
Armed with his guitar and cowboy persona, Mike Braae had a way with women. He also liked to strangle them.
Seattle Weekly |
Aimee Curl |
07-28-2008 |
Crime & Justice
