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As a critical vote draws near on the controversial Ahmanson Ranch development near Los Angeles, Michael Collins, reporting for Ventura County Reporter, unearths a slew of evidence that raises serious questions about possible contamination of the site's groundwater. With everyone from Gov. Gray Davis to activist/actor Rob Reiner calling for a halt to the project, members of the Ventura County board of supervisors face perhaps the most critical decision of their careers, Collins reports.

Steve Tucker served a 10-year prison sentence for selling light bulbs. Nearly a decade ago, he, his brother and his sister-in-law were sent to prison in a once-infamous federal drug case that sparked national outrage for its rough interpretation of justice, Scott Henry writes in Creative Loafing (Atlanta). "Watch out, you're talking to a notorious ex-con," Tucker says to Henry. His saga and the fate of his brother testify to the human tragedies that are the real product of the War on Drugs.