Jessica Lyons delves into the heart and soul of Monterey County's Census Track 7, one of the most densely populated districts in the United States, a gang-ridden neighborhood filled with vibrant life and deep despair. She rides with a councilman in search of a park in the impoverished neighborhood. They never find it, but they find a place where they can look out over a lush golf course in the affluent part of town. "It's got to be so goddamn depressing," the councilman tells her. "You live in the ghetto, but you can see out.
The AAN Admissions Committee's often barbed recommendation report to the members will be released during the June 5-8 AAN Convention, giving thumbs up or down to the 12 papers applying for admission this year. Last year's report, which included such memorable digs as "this paper should be taken out back and shot," is still causing a stir a year later. Several members tell AAN News they plan to temper their written remarks this year.
Hold on to your liver! Riverfront Times salutes the coolest watering holes you've never heard of. Randall Roberts and Mike Seely pull the hard duty of checking out the VFW and American Legion bars of St. Louis, where no one recalls how it became law that "no beer shall cost more than a buck and a quarter or that a majority of bartenders be named Rita." Seely tells AAN News, "This is the real cheese when it comes to getting to the nit-grit of the current military state."
A few weeks ago the Baltimore Sun launched "LiVE!" its version of the ubiquitous daily paper sop to "young readers." Baltimore City Paper wasted no time in starting its own new weekly "Advice Column for Journalists Looking to Get in on the Lucrative Alt-Weekly Market." Here's a sample: "After more than two years with virtually no homegrown pop-music coverage ... three LiVE! covers in a row devoted to the hot musical acts of today. Ga-zinga! You surely are giving us a run for our money, pop-music-wise, which, of course, as everyone knows, is a big reason people pick up a publication like ours. And that's the idea, right? A publication like ours? Except folks gotta pay for yours."
Marcus Leach is a poor kid from one of Kansas City's worst neighborhoods, but his gangsta debate brilliance has universities across the country clamoring for him. Unfortunately, Leach's achievement is lost on state education activities bureaucrats, offended that his coach would try to break their rules to take her team to the most prestigious debate event in the country. Staff writer Joe Miller tells how Central High school's debate squad is losing its "War of Words." (First in a series)
