Ted B. Kissell will take over as editor-in-chief of the Santa Ana alt-weekly on April 2, Village Voice Media announced today. Kissell, previously a staff writer at Miami New Times and an associate editor at New Times Broward-Palm Beach, was most recently senior editor at the daily Ventura County Star. Kissell won't be the only new face in the OC Weekly office: VVM says Jose Santos will start his tenure as art director on April 2, Dave Segal's first day as music editor is March 26, and Luke Y. Thompson, the paper's "newest staff writer," started last week.

Continue ReadingOC Weekly Names New Editor

Will Swaim tells the Los Angeles Times that Republican lawyers are bankrolling the new Long Beach weekly. They provided enough seed money to allow the paper to operate for nine months without turning a profit. The District, which is set to launch in April, will have an initial press run of 30,000, with a "television version" of the paper planned for this summer. Swaim, who says he "stopped taking antidepressants and decided to leave" OC Weekly this winter, has plenty of former Weekly staffers in place at The District. He tells the Times they'll all be working from home so the paper can cut the cost of office space.

Continue ReadingMore Details on OC Weekly Founder’s New Paper Emerge

Deveron Timberlake, the food & drink editor for the Richmond alt-weekly, is one of two local judges on an upcoming episode of Throwdown! With Bobby Flay, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The Food Network show pits celebrity chef Bobby Flay against a local chef known for a regional speciality. The show arrived this week in Richmond for a ribs cookoff, where Flay challenged -- and lost to -- Buz Grossberg of Buz & Ned's Real Barbecue.

Continue ReadingStyle Weekly Editor to Make Appearance on Basic Cable

Will Swaim, who resigned in January over "philosophical differences" with the alt-weekly's new owners, is starting The District, a weekly paper covering Long Beach, Orange County Business Journal reports. Swaim has heavily recruited ex-OC Weekly staffers to work at The District, including the Weekly's former art director, sales director and sales manager. Former staff writers Steve Lowery, Dave Wielenga and Theo Douglas have also migrated to The District, which launches April 11, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Meanwhile, LA Observed reports ex-staff writer Ellen Griley is also on board. For Swaim, the new location was a no-brainer. "Long Beach is the largest North American city without an independent newsweekly," he says.

Continue ReadingOC Weekly’s Founding Editor to Launch New Paper

Steve Lowery, who was acting as interim editor in the wake of Will Swaim's departure, announced today that he is leaving the paper effective immediately, according to a farewell e-mail obtained by LA Observed. Effective March 23, OC Weekly will also be without Features Editor Theo Douglas, who gave his two weeks' notice today. In addition, OC Blog reports that two production staffers are leaving.

Continue ReadingMore OC Weekly Staffers On the Way Out

"Our bagels are like vaginas: What's not to love?," asks the notice for River City Bagels. (The ad mistakenly omitted a context-altering line noting that the restaurant is a sponsor of a local production of Vagina Monologues, according to owner Jodi Kummermehr.) Employees tell New West Boise that a few women have complained and some boys were supposedly suspended from school for talking about the ad in class, but foot traffic in the restaurant has increased significantly. "I think it's really funny," says River City manager Sri Galindo. "The only thing I'd feel bad about is if it really offended people, but they learned that word in health class!"

Continue Reading‘Sexy’ Bagel Ad in Boise Weekly Causes a Stir

The Richmond, Va., alt-weekly won two Awards of Merit from the Grade 2007 awards, sponsored by the Richmond chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). Led by Art Director Jeffrey Bland, Style Weekly received kudos for "24 Reasons to Love Richmond" and "Original Tales."

Continue ReadingStyle Weekly Wins AIGA Design Awards