AltWeeklies Wire
Lawsuits Decided by Juries Are on the Decline: What Does it Mean for Justice?new
The right to a trial by a jury of one's peers is still widely regarded as a great virtue of the American Way of Life. But statistics show that fewer Americans are exercising that right, at least in regard to civil lawsuits. We seem to have lost faith in our peers.
Arkansas Times |
Doug Smith |
11-19-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Die, Already! Lawsuit Exposes Latest Life Insurance Schemenew
When it comes to high finance, New Mexico is still the Wild West. Shady characters come from all over to take big risks in a casino-like, almost lawless market. One such story is told in a lawsuit filed late last month in the 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Corey Pein |
11-19-2009 |
Crime & Justice
South Carolina's Broadband: How Officials Quietly Privatized a Key State Assetnew
To its supporters, auctioning off the state's broadband spectrum has meant snaring millions of much-needed dollars for the state's ailing coffers. But opponents say the deal privatizes the public trust and will deepen the state's massive digital divide.
Columbia Free Times |
Corey Hutchins |
11-19-2009 |
Media
Is it Too Late to Save the World's Oceans?new
Like seafood? Us too. Too bad there might not be any of it left by 2048, considering how poorly we treat the planet's marine ecosystems. In fact, between climate change, pollution, and rapacious global fishing practices, we are essentially murdering the globe's oceans.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
11-18-2009 |
Environment
How Artsy Renegades Reignited a Movement to Reclaim the Urban Environmentnew
Increasingly, the tactics and spirit of outlaw urbanists, designers, and artists are being adopted inside San Francisco City Hall, and the result is starting to look like a real urban design revolution -- one that harks back to a movement that was interrupted back in the 1970s.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Molly Freedenberg and Steven T. Jones |
11-18-2009 |
Housing & Development
How San Francisco's Sanctuary Sellout Hurts Undocumented Teensnew
Before: The city coddled undocumented teen criminals. After: The city punishes undocumented teens who commit crimes (and some who don't, too).
SF Weekly |
Lauren Smiley |
11-18-2009 |
Immigration
The Battle Over a Woman's Right to Choose Rages Outside Louisville's Only Abortion Clinicnew
While the Stupak Amendment suggests there's a movement afoot in the nation's capital to scale back accessibility to abortion, Kentucky is already among a contingent of socially conservative states that make it especially difficult for a woman to terminate her pregnancy.
LEO Weekly |
Farrah Johnson |
11-18-2009 |
Sex
Oregon's Most Litigious Stripper is Out to Reform the Industrynew
Zipporah Foster insists strippers deserve to be paid a minimum wage like any other worker. She and other dancers around the country are beginning to take a stand, and a handful have successfully sued for back wages.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
11-18-2009 |
Business & Labor
Rolling Strikes are Fresh Tactic in the Labor Struggle Against Hotel Chainsnew
Two consecutive three-day strikes by San Francisco hotel workers signaled a change in strategy for local labor, which is struggling to hold on to past gains in an increasingly bitter contract dispute during this economic downturn.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dan Abbott |
11-18-2009 |
Business & Labor
One Prominent Enviro Thinks the Copenhagen Conference is 'Probably Obsolete'new
Next month's global climate conference in Copenhagen does not lack for dire warnings from environmentalists about what failure would mean for the world. But Lester Brown, the founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, doesn't put much faith in Copenhagen.
Willamette Week |
Henry Stern |
11-18-2009 |
Environment
Texas Could Soon Have 12 New Coal-Fired Power Plants. What Gives?new
The Texas coal rush threatens to throw a monkey wrench into the nation's long-delayed efforts to stem global warming. If all 12 plants are built, they would add upwards of 80 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year.
The Texas Observer |
Forrest Wilder |
11-18-2009 |
Environment
What We're Really Talking About When We Talk About the Killing of Annie Lenew
As Annie Le's story appeared all over the internet and on 24-hour news updates, blogs, commentaries, Facebook and Twitter posts, the fact that she was an Asian-American female was to become an important part of her narrative, speaking to uniquely American anxieties about sex, violence, gender and race.
New Haven Advocate |
Pang-Mei Natasha Chang |
11-17-2009 |
Race & Class
Juan Cole: Afghanistan 'Needs a Light Touch'new
"You just have to accept that there's going to be a certain amount of disorder in the countryside as long as people are organized tribally. And if you put 100,000 or 150,000 Western troops in there, that's just more people to feud with."
Metro Times |
Curt Guyette and W. Kim Heron |
11-17-2009 |
War
As PR Grows and Journalism Shrinks, Who Will Separate Fact from Fiction?new
The H1N1 vaccine rollout in Canada has been a complete gong show, a cacophonous torrent of contradictory messages flying in all directions. The communication has gone completely haywire, and it's not just government spreading confusion.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Jeremy Klaszus |
11-17-2009 |
Media
Connecticut Tackles the DNA Questionnew
Connecticut is one of 29 states that doesn't collect DNA at the time of arrest for felonies. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, among others, would like to see that changed.
New Haven Advocate |
Daniel D'Ambrosio |
11-17-2009 |
Crime & Justice
