AltWeeklies Wire
Lawyer Makes Dirty Debt Collectors Paynew

Pete Barry goes after those "who live off the misery of others" and wins millions in damages.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Jonathan Caminsky |
06-04-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Home Equity Loans Threatened in Mortgage Crisisnew

As property values drop, many banks are freezing their customers' home equity loans.
East Bay Express |
Anna McCarthy |
06-04-2008 |
Housing & Development
Help me, Obi Wannew
When a woman was asked to leave a store, she became angry and started throwing beer bottles on the floor. She then stood in the corner screaming that “Jesus got her pregnant and she wanted [it] out of her so she could it eat it.”
Metro Spirit |
Alice Wynn |
06-04-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Hospital Sees High Cost of Gun Violencenew
The trauma center at Highland Hospital in Oakland frequently treats patients with gun wounds, most of them young and uninsured.
East Bay Express |
Matthew Green |
06-04-2008 |
Crime & Justice
On HIV, Some Black Ministers Are Admitting that Silence Equals Deathnew
The Good Samaritan Project Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS in Kansas City hopes to fight infections in a city where the HIV infection rate rivals Africa's.
Recent Raid Shows Sheriff Joe Arpaio is Racially Profilingnew

A sweep of overwhelmingly Hispanic municipality Guadalupe shows "America's Toughest Sheriff" is down on anybody brown. What happened there seemed so odious that it earned Arpaio's sweeps condemnation from a broad political spectrum.
Phoenix New Times |
Stephen Lemons |
06-03-2008 |
Race & Class
Risky Surgery Might Return an Eager Vet to Iraqnew
After being injured by an IED in Iraq, Richard Bennett has been searching for a doctor to reverse his injuries so he can return to the battle lines. "I just have to get my [spinal discs] replaced or fused ... either that or a doctor willing to sign a waiver saying I'm capable [for combat]," he says. But the doctors have been unwilling to operate, saying the surgery would be too risky on someone so young.
Philadelphia Weekly |
St. John Barned-Smith |
06-03-2008 |
War
What Role Will Recycling Play in Detroit's Future?new
The issue of recycling is wrapped up in the broader debate about what to do with the massive incinerator in Detroit that burns the city's trash, as well as garbage trucked in from the suburbs, creating steam and electricity in the process.
Metro Times |
Curt Guyette |
06-03-2008 |
Environment
Homophobic Attacks on the Rise in Michigannew
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs last week released a report showing a 24 percent increase nationally in reported anti-gay hate crimes from 2006 to 2007 -- Michigan had the largest increase among the states, jumping from 97 to 226.
Metro Times |
Staff |
06-03-2008 |
LGBT
Is Emily Gould the New Journalism?new
The real question brought up by the publication of one girl's 8,000–word finger–flip to an ex–boyfriend in the New York Times Magazine goes like this: Because web traffic determines ad cost, is the distinction between good and popular collapsing?
Philadelphia Weekly |
Tara Murtha |
06-03-2008 |
Media
Pro-Israel Groups Leading Opposition to Al Jazeera in Burlingtonnew
As supporters and critics gear up for a public meeting on Burlington Telecom's recent decision to stop airing Al Jazeera English, the conflict has attracted international media attention -- from Al Jazeera International.
Seven Days |
Ken Picard |
06-02-2008 |
Media
Smart Tips for First-Time Home Sellersnew
From tips on how to go about purchasing a house to materials proclaiming the advantages of owning a property, new buyers don't have a shortage of print and online references. But how about people selling their homes for the first time?
The Georgia Straight |
Carlito Pablo |
06-02-2008 |
Housing & Development
What Happens to the Mentally Ill in the Justice System is Just Crazynew
In Colorado, gaping holes in the so-called safety net have made police, courts and emergency rooms the first and last line of contact with people who may be a danger to themselves or others. Too often, the care they receive is perfunctory -- a 72-hour crisis hold, a few pills, a referral to a mental-health center -- with little or no followup.
Westword |
Alan Prendergast |
06-02-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Another Dubious Death at a Downtown Seattle Jailnew
Details of the incident, based on public records and interviews, fit into a three-year pattern of preventable deaths at the King County Jail.
Seattle Weekly |
Rick Anderson |
06-02-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: death, prisons, Seattle, jails, inmates, crime & justice, King County Jail, preventable deaths
Our Bumblebees on the Brinknew

While much has been made of the effect of colony collapse disorder on domesticated honeybees across Europe, Asia and North America, few have grasped the disappearing act of the planet's wild bees.
NOW Magazine |
Stephen Humphrey |
06-02-2008 |
Environment