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The bizarre morphing of Sen. Paul Wellstone's memorial into a political rally tilted Minnesota, and maybe other states, into the Republican column Tuesday, Steve Perry concludes in a City Pages (Twin Cities) story. Perry doesn't hold out much hope the Democrats will rise from the ashes of this defeat. He speculates centrist Dems will "broker the candidacies of another wave of pale Republican wanna-be's," part of a trend that had turned even the fiery Wellstone " into a love slave of the party."

Continue ReadingMinnesota Election Reflects the Nation

Chicago Media Examiner spoofs the Chicago Tribune's new "alternative" weekday tabloid, RedEye. Chicago Red Face has a cool Top Ten Reasons to Read This Web Site list, a whining sports column, lots of blocks of type and pix and a paean to its readers: "You, dear reader, rule the Earth!!! You are most definitely the most coolest person ever ... We love you. We want to perform oral homage on you. We just can't put into words how amazingly incredible you are and how honored we are by your existence. Keep up the good work! "

Continue ReadingRedEye Gets the Rotten Tomato
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As he positions himself for a run for the White House, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., is getting his military tickets punched. But he says that's not behind his support for a war in Iraq. Jon Elliston of Independent Weekly looks at the North Carolina senator who some compare to the slain Kennedy brothers or a professional quarterback who can "see the holes" and make snap plays. His appeal to others is more visceral. "I love that man," Ellison quotes a middle-aged woman as cooing. "He's so good-looking."

Continue ReadingWill It Be Edwards 2004?

Richard Meeker, publisher of Willamette Week, says the alt-weekly made pre-tax profits of $365,000 on revenues of $6 million in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2002, and expects to do equally well in the current fiscal year. In his "annual report" to readers, Meeker says the economy "stinks" but his paper has been able to hold its own because newsprint prices have dropped and " local papers like ours have been hurt less than big dailies by the economy's downturn." Meeker also estimates the profits and revenues of The Oregonian, the Portland Tribune, and his alt-weekly rival, The Portland Mercury. "Journalism isn't the Merc's focus; its real appeal is attitude and bargain-basement ad rates," Meeker says.

Continue ReadingWillamette Week Has a Good Year
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At 79, Gaynor Bracewell stands to make $100,000 a year from selling his rights to water from the Apalachee River in North Georgia, Michael Wall writes in Creative Loafing Atlanta. Bracewell's boon could usher in an era, "where water becomes subject to the same rules of commerce as peaches, DVD players and automobiles," Wall writes. In an example of a struggle that's playing out around the globe, "access to water would be not so much an inalienable right as it would be a commodity, delivered to the highest bidder."

Continue ReadingSelling Water Rights
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Joe Loya ripped off dozens of banks in the late '80s, netting about $250,000. Now Loya, dubbed the "Beirut Bandit" because of his dark complexion, has a book deal and a starring role in his own show, Justin Berton writes in East Bay Express. "Loya is a well-read sophisticate, but he's also an ex-con who can walk up to a stranger on the street and call him 'homeboy' without sounding like a guidance counselor," Berton says.

Continue ReadingConfessions of the Beirut Bandit