AltWeeklies Wire
A Biologist Exposes the Dangers of bisphenol A and Earns the Wrath of the Plastic Industrynew

Missouri biologist Frederick vom Saal's willingness to speak frankly about his findings is alarming to the top five makers of bisphenol A: Dow Chemical, Bayer Material Science, Sunoco Chemicals, SABIC Innovative Plastics and Hexion Specialty Chemicals. And now, after years of quietly publishing studies in scientific journals and presenting papers at toxicological conventions, he is starting to be heard.
Let's Redefine Gun Controlnew
One answer is to redefine gun control so that it's not something we inflict on good, law-abiding people, but rather, part of the package of punishments that we impose on those who have shown criminal and antisocial behavior.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Michael Washburn |
04-29-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Rural People Once Watched the Weather; Now They Track the Price of Oilnew
Rural America's deep disaffection is in some ways more terrible than the pain of the inner city -- because urbanites never harbored any illusions about the Republicans' deceptive rhetoric.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Bruce Schimmel |
04-29-2008 |
Economy
Foreclosure Pets: Household Animals Get Left Behind When Owners Are Pushed Outnew
"Generally, the people that leave the pets don't care enough to call us," says the public relations director for the Houston Humane Society. "Oftentimes we'll see a bag of dog food ripped open. They'll leave a bag of dog food and say a prayer and good luck. It's really upsetting."
Houston Press |
Paul Knight |
04-29-2008 |
Animal Issues
To Avoid Red Tape at Fort Carson, Soldiers Head to Private 'Baghdad Village'new
The squad commander suggests off-base training is an efficient way to polish needed skills with minimal hassle.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Anthony Lane |
04-29-2008 |
War
Mikhail Gorbachev Visits Floridanew
The former Soviet President was at the Hard Rock Live, a guest of the Seminole Indian Tribe. He addressed an audience that had come to see the former communist leader and Louis Vuitton pitchman cashing in on a trip to the land where the grotesqueries of capitalism are matched only by modern-day Russia.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Michael J. Mooney |
04-29-2008 |
International
Cleaning Up Foreclosed Homes After the Mortgage Crisisnew

Junk haulers expand their business in the wake of evictees leaving behind houses in terrible condition.
Houston Press |
Paul Knight |
04-29-2008 |
Business & Labor
Panicked Newspapers Seek Salvation ... Will Madison's Capital Times Find it on the Web?new
Good luck, Cap Times. You'll need it. Converting from a six-day-a-week paid paper to an online news site is like jumping from a very high cliff into a very deep and mysterious pool.
Discrimination Suits Accuse Southern Connecticut State University of Institutional Discriminationnew
Five SCSU business professors, past and present, are suing the university for discrimination and harassment, and all say the university president is aware of and maybe even condones the problems. If the claims are true, the lawsuits paint a bleak picture of academic life at the state school.
New Haven Advocate |
Betsy Yagla |
04-29-2008 |
Education
After Their Lanlord Disappears, Tenants Get Power Cut Offnew
Steve and Mae, high school sweethearts in the 1970s who married others but reunited 15 years ago, have lived in Colorado Springs more than a decade. Their slide into hell began last November, when their landlord boarded a Greyhound bus and vanished. Since she had been paying the utilities, her tenants now live without power.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Rich Tosches |
04-29-2008 |
Housing & Development
Four Govs Gather at Yale Climate Conference to Promise They Won't Let the World Endnew
Governors Jon Corzine, Kathleen Sebelius, Jodi Rell and, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger, met to sign a declaration to renew statewide efforts to reduce our collective carbon footprint. The event marked the 100th anniversary of the original 1908 "governors conference" sponsored by then-President Theodore Roosevelt, which called the public "to consider the weightiest problem now before the nation."
New Haven Advocate |
Alexis Fitts |
04-29-2008 |
Environment
Can Vitamins Save the World?new

The Santa Barbara non-profit Vitamin Angels is saving India and beyond, one dose at a time.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Matt Kettmann |
04-28-2008 |
Science
Why Environmental Consciousness Needs to Go Beyond Recyclingnew
For years, environmentalists have told us to first reduce consumption, then to reuse what we buy, and only then to recycle. But somehow, the option of last resort became the default setting. Leading environmental thinkers say it's time to take a different approach to our economy -- which means cultivating an even more radical relationship to the resources we use.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
04-28-2008 |
Environment
Pedicab Entrepreneur Steve Meyer Has Started a Rolling Revolutionnew

Meyer wants to sell pedicabs to the world -- but is the world willing to go along for the ride?
Westword |
Joel Warner |
04-28-2008 |
Transportation
Ari Kohn is The Patron Saint of Ex-Consnew
For three years he's been running, and funding, the Post-Prison Education Program, which takes former prisoners on in entirety -- paying for whatever food, housing, and clothing they and their families need. Now Kohn is trying to drum up money from outside sources, mainly from Washington's state Legislature, but his chances are iffy.
Seattle Weekly |
Nina Shapiro |
04-28-2008 |
Crime & Justice