The Texas Data Exchange (TDEx) was created by Gov. Rick Perry's Homeland Security office as a way to coordinate data from all of the state's law enforcement agencies, News 8 Austin reports. The database, brought to light by an Observer investigation, may already include information on at least a million Texans. "What is most striking, and disturbing, about the database is that it is not being run by the state's highest law enforcement agency," the Observer's Jake Bernstein writes. "Instead, control of TDEx, and the power to decide who can use it, resides in the governor's office." According to News 8, the governor's office originally claimed that the database was under supervision by state law enforcement.

Continue ReadingTexas Observer Uncovers Governor’s Massive Citizen Database

But Kevin Hoffman tells the Pioneer Press he wants the paper to be "more adventurous" and less partisan. "I'm probably a bit less ideological than my predecessor was," says Hoffman, who took over when Steve Perry resigned earlier this year. While City Pages co-founder Kris Henning decries "the corporatization" of the paper, staff writer Mike Mosedale says the major difference now is that Hoffman is more hands-on and runs a more disciplined newsroom than Perry.

Continue ReadingNew Editor Says City Pages Not Destined for Major Makeover

"We've never sent a reporter to Idaho Falls, much less Havana," Weekly editor Shea Andersen tells the Idaho Press-Tribune. But last week, when Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and his trade mission group traveled to Cuba, they were accompanied by Nathaniel Hoffman, who is reporting on the trip and on Cuban life for the Weekly. Access was arranged "using nothing more magic than a letter to the Cuban government requesting a visa," according to New West Boise. A spokesperson for Gov. Otter says they "were amazed" that Hoffman's visa was approved. "We were told that the Cubans were not allowing reporters in," Jon Hanian says. "They turned down over 2,000 requests, including Barbara Walters'."

Continue ReadingBoise Weekly Sends Reporter to Cuba

Dean Kuipers' Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke was selected as one of the 20 most notable books about Michigan from 300 nominees. Published in June 2006, the book examines the lives of Michigan marijuana activists Tom Crosslin and Rolland Rohm, who were shot and killed by the FBI and state police during a standoff at their 34-acre campground in the fall of 2001. Kuipers, a Michigan native, tells the Dowagiac Daily News that national interest in his book remains strong, and a movie deal could be in the cards.

Continue ReadingLos Angeles CityBeat Editor’s Book Named a ‘Michigan Notable Book’