But the men aren't hiding from the law. Incredibly, they were ordered to sleep under that bridge by state authorities, New Times' Isaiah Thompson reported last month. Residency restrictions for sex offenders have complicated the task of finding suitable housing for some offenders, especially those who leave prison homeless. "Probation officers just don't know what to do with cases like this," a Florida Department of Corrections spokesperson tells New Times. The alt-weekly's report has kicked up a storm of follow-up coverage, including stories by CNN and the Associated Press. But as New Times Broward-Palm Beach reporter Bob Norman complains on his blog (referring specifically to CNN), it's "too bad they're too arrogant and unprofessional to say whose scoop it is."

Continue ReadingMiami New Times Reveals Sex Offenders Living Under a Bridge

Mae Banner died on Friday after a long illness. She was 73 years old. "I was always impressed by how open-minded she was," says Peter Lesser, executive director of the Albany's Egg Center for the Performing Arts. "She appreciated all different types of dance from kids performances to avant garde and modern." In addition to her work at Metroland, Banner wrote for the Saratogian and Glens Falls Chronicle newspapers and taught sociology at the University of Tennessee, SUNY-Cortland and Skidmore College.

Continue ReadingMetroland Dance Critic Dies

Last week, the new board of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) began freeing young inmates as part of the reform ushered in by the Observer's February investigation of sexual abuse at TYC prisons. TYC spokesman Jim Hurley tells the Dallas Morning News the agency plans on releasing 473 juveniles to family members or guardians. In what could be a sign of things to come, the attorney for one of the released prisoners plans on suing the state agency, the News reports.

Continue ReadingInmates Released from Youth Prisons on Heels of Texas Observer Story

The VVM "channel," which includes all of the paper's sites, was the 27th most popular online newspaper destination in February, according to a Nielsen/NetRatings report. VVM's sites had 5,205,000 pageviews; a unique audience of 1,377,000; and the average user visit lasted four minutes, seven seconds.

Continue ReadingVillage Voice Media Cracks Top 30 Newspaper Websites

The Scene's display advertising director Ginny Staggs has accepted the position of advertising director at The City Paper, a free Nashville daily. Staggs will be reunited with former Scene publisher and co-owner Albie Del Favero, who is publisher of The City Paper. "I had the good fortune of being able to hire her when I was running the Nashville Scene, so I guess now I could say good fortune strikes again," Del Favero says.

Continue ReadingNashville Scene Ad Director Leaves for Free Daily

The first live chat will take place this Thursday, April 12, at 1 pm EDT, with subsequent sessions offered the first Thursday of each month at 1 pm. The format will sometimes be like a roundtable and other times will feature specific presenters or topics. This Thursday's session will focus on new technology and a discussion about future Webinar topics. Members with questions about the Webinars or suggestions regarding potential subjects for discussion should contact AAN Sales and Marketing Director Roxanne Cooper.

Continue ReadingAAN Offers Webinar Sessions for Classified Managers