AltWeeklies Wire
How One San Fran Woman Helped Nail a Notorious Weapons Smugglernew

Investigator Kathi Austin helped expose notorious arms dealer Victor Bout and awaken the world to a key human rights struggle.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
G.W. Schulz |
07-23-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Gun Law Loopholes Render Gun Control Pointless in Many Statesnew
Idaho is one of them. The state has no idea how many mentally ill are out there armed.
Boise Weekly |
Nathaniel Hoffman |
07-22-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Massacre in Moscow, Idaho: Part IInew
The second part of a two-part series examining a courthouse shooting in Moscow, Idaho and the factors that led to the massacre.
Boise Weekly |
Nathaniel Hoffman |
07-22-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Salvia D: The Tempest in a Tea Leafnew

Indigenous people use this Mexican plant for medicinal purposes, which has researchers touting its healing potential. Others smoke it for a legal high, which has legislators itching to regulate. What's to keep Salvia D from being the drug war's next casualty?
Missoula Independent |
Patrick M. Klemz |
07-22-2008 |
Drugs
Suzi Dodt's Mission: To Return the Nameless Dead to Their Loved Onesnew

As the Unidentified Persons Bureau at the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office, she often refers to her cases by their numbers, because that's all she has. But, in her heart, she knows that the anonymous souls were real people who once walked among us, with families, friends, dreams, lives.
Phoenix New Times |
Paul Rubin |
07-22-2008 |
Crime & Justice
What Publishers Don't Want You to Know About Door-to-Door Magazine Salesnew
That kid at your door with a magazine order form will tell you a story -- part sad, part hopeful. The truth will be infinitely worse than you can imagine.
Houston Press |
Craig Malisow |
07-22-2008 |
Media
What the Hell Will it Take to Get You Out of Your Car?new

It's crossroads time for Sacramento Regional Transit. Rising gas prices and I-5 construction have raised demand for public transit through the roof -- but the system is completely unable to handle the demand.
Sacramento News & Review |
Cosmo Garvin |
07-22-2008 |
Transportation
New Life Ministries' Pastor Troy Campbell Follows the Example of Jesusnew
Unlike some of the more visible evangelical houses of worship in Kansas City, New Life seems serious about closing the gap between the church described in the New Testament and what's happening in the suburbs today.
Arizona Pols Play Politics with the State's Disabled Studentsnew
Governor Janet Napolitano signed off on scholarships for disabled and foster kids -- only to give them the ax two years later.
Phoenix New Times |
Sarah Fenske |
07-22-2008 |
Education
Michigan Voters Will Likely Vote in November on State's Stem-Cell Research Bannew
Frankly, supporters of both sides have been guilty of distortions on the issue.
Metro Times |
Jack Lessenberry |
07-22-2008 |
Science
E-Scooters Are Clogging Up Bike Lanes ... and Here Comes the Segwaynew

When is a bicycle no longer a bicycle? When it's equipped with a motor, right? But it's not that simple, as an electric bike pilot project in Toronto is making clear.
NOW Magazine |
Paul Terefenko |
07-22-2008 |
Transportation
The Nokia Lolitas: A Combustible Mix of Minors, Sex and Technologynew

An emerging trend of DIY teenage sex imagery raises questions about the limits of technology and the appropriate legal response. Should kids be facing criminal records for taking naked pictures of themselves? Also: Just how widespread is this trend, and how should officials handle it when students make their sex lives public?
New Haven Advocate |
Rachel Slajda and Erin Lynch |
07-22-2008 |
Tech
As We Enter Year 8 of Recession, Will Anyone Act to Prevent a Depression?
Forget the experts. They think telling the grisly truth about the state of the U.S. economy could make things even worse -- and they're probably right. But Americans know the truth.
Texas Honeybee Guild Encourages Local Homeowners to Be Sweet on Beesnew
One of the group's most pressing goals is to expand the number of healthy beehives in North Texas and protect the insects -- crucial for agriculture and horticulture -- at a time when they face a mysterious peril that's been destroying colonies since 2006.
Dallas Observer |
Megan Feldman |
07-21-2008 |
Animal Issues
Those of Us Who Care Ought to Fight to Help Keep Newspapers Goingnew
If it sounds like I'm angry, I guess I am. I'm angry that newspapers are falling into disrepute. I'm angry that people don't respect the quality control that goes into news reporting; they seem to think any idiot with internet access is worth listening to.