AltWeeklies Wire
Are Delaware and New Jersey Exploring Alternative Energy Solutions Pennsylvania Should be Looking at?new
While the debate about offshore drilling continues to underscore the environmental policies of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, Philadelphia's neighbors to the south and east are planning for a different kind of offshore energy.
Philadelphia Weekly |
John Steele |
07-14-2008 |
Environment
A New Bill Introduced Rethinks Drug-free School Zonesnew

With the densest population in the country, New Jersey's cities are almost completely consumed by drug-free school zones. The result is that nearly every offender convicted under the law--an astounding 96 percent--was either black or Hispanic.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Daniel McQuade |
07-14-2008 |
Drugs
Mom-and-pop Stores Duke It Out with Giant Chains and Recessionnew
The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce is considering launching a "Buy Local" campaign in the fall to encourage people to spend money with Pasadena businesses, particularly in the crucial and rapidly approaching holiday season.
Pasadena Weekly |
Carl Kozlowski |
07-14-2008 |
Economy
Teacher Bikes 6,000 Miles a Year for Better Health and a Cleaner Environmentnew
Since the summer of 2000, Redman has been bicycling 11 miles to work and back, a total of about 22 miles a day. He cycles five days a week when he is teaching at Franklin High School in nearby Highland Park, and he does that 34 weeks a year.
Pasadena Weekly |
Christopher Nyerges |
07-14-2008 |
Transportation
Activist Hits the Seats at the Rose Bowl to Raise Funds for Outward Boundnew
Starting from the nosebleed section and spiraling down to the most highly coveted seats at the Rose Bowl, 56-year-old activist Jim "Mouth" Purol will not stop sitting and standing until his sweaty backside has touched all 92,542 seats.
Pasadena Weekly |
Liz Hedrick |
07-14-2008 |
Economy
Letter to the Editor Sparks International Dog Rescuenew
Through the Internet, the locally focused Athens (Ohio) News and an Athens legal-aid attorney had roles in triggering an international rescue operation that plucked six abandoned mutts off a deserted Greek island on July 5.
The Athens NEWS |
Terry Smith |
07-11-2008 |
Animal Issues
Tags: animal issues
A Look at the Ecological Impacts of the Big Sur Wildfiresnew

Big Sur enthusiasts may be horrified to see the wildfires turn postcard-quality forests into black moonscapes. But scientists remind us that fire is a critical ingredient in Big Sur's fire-adapted beauty, and the ecological challenges arise less from the flames than from human meddling. As long as the wildfires are burning, their precise ecological impacts will be shrouded in smoke -- but experts do have a sense of how the flames will affect non-human life in Big Sur.
Monterey County Weekly |
Kera Abraham |
07-11-2008 |
Disasters
No Citizenship May Mean No College for Some Longtime Arkansas Residentsnew
As a graduate of an Arkansas high school, Cecilia might have been eligible for in-state tuition until recently. The state high school diploma signaled residency; state schools are not required to gather information on citizenship from applicants. Then, after an AP article reported that undocumented students might be enrolled as residents, Gov. Mike Beebe directed the state Department of Higher Education to make sure colleges had stopped the practice.
Arkansas Times |
Leslie Newell Peacock |
07-11-2008 |
Immigration
Saving Birds from Burning in Big Surnew
As the wildfire in Big Sur carpeted more and more of the region's steep coastal mountains, the biologists of Ventana Wildlife Society's condor rehabilitation project realized the uncontrolled blaze could prove deadly for eight condors contained in a large aviary directly within the fire's predicted path.
Monterey County Weekly |
Stuart Thornton |
07-11-2008 |
Disasters
Massacre in Moscow, Idahonew

A criminal profile of Jason Hamilton, a townie who launched a mass shooting in the college town of Moscow, Idaho in May 2007. First of two parts.
Boise Weekly |
Nathaniel Hoffman |
07-10-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice, Jason Hamilton
Citizen EnCana: The Double Life of the World's Second-Largest Natural Gas Co.new
Canada's largest energy company has created jobs, brought investment and poured money into rural communities across the Canadian Prairies and the western United States. It has also left a trail of farmers and ranchers who say the company has ruined their land, made them sick and killed their livestock.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Adrian Morrow |
07-10-2008 |
Environment
Reality Paycheck at the Boston Globenew
Rumor has it that the Boston Globe is primed to ask its staff to do the same work for less pay. And it just might happen.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
07-10-2008 |
Media
NYC's Parks Commish Squares Off Against His Father Over the Future of Union Squarenew
When the parks department turned its attention to renovating Union Square Park, the clash between the community and city officials hit home for Adrian Benepe when his father spoke out publicly against his own son.
New York Press |
Kimberly Thorpe |
07-10-2008 |
Housing & Development
What if Courageous California Pols Had Put a $2/Gallon Tax on Gas Five Years Ago?new
The SUVs and Hummers would be long gone. Public transit would be booming. And with 1.5 billion gallons of gas sold per year in the state, there would be $3 billion more each year in new revenue. Enough to fund huge improvements in urban transportation systems. The high-speed rail line to Los Angeles would be well underway. Traffic (and pollution, and global warming) would have dropped dramatically.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Tim Redmond |
07-10-2008 |
Transportation
One of the D.C. Police Dept's Top Informants Talks About a Decade on the Streetsnew

How to buy drugs without blowing your cover. How to gain the trust of old heads. And an insider's look at the carnage of D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood.
Washington City Paper |
As told to Jason Cherkis |
07-10-2008 |
Crime & Justice