A "disturbing trend of alt-weeklies' [is their] inaccessibility in inner cities -- particularly in black inner city areas," Former Cleveland Free Times writer Daniel Gray-Kontar, now editor of Urban Dialect, writes in an e-mail to AAN News. "It's been a point of contention for myself and other black writers for many moons as we question exactly who we are really writing for." This week Urban Dialect publishes an essay by contributor Mark Reynolds about the distribution pattern of alt-weeklies as well as "the phenomenon of being an alternative weekly 'Designated Black Writer.'"
Rare indeed is the pro jock whose activism extends beyond the United Way -- rarer still that professional athletes venture into politically charged territory. Well, so much for the status quo. Last month at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo hosted a press conference to kick off Battin' 1000, a campaign that aims to raise at least $1 million to construct a pro-life education center for the American Life League near the anti-abortion organization's Stafford, Va., headquarters. Battin' 1000's chairman, former Oakland A's third baseman Sal Bando, says the cause has been endorsed by 90 current and former players, managers and owners, Mike Seely writes in Riverfront Times.
As American bombs fall on Iraq, songwriters across the county feel compelled to put their thoughts to music. Whether they be kick-ass country anthems or anti-war folk songs, they follow in a long tradition of American songs about war, from the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to the "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag." Local Planet Weekly writer Jeremy Hadley asks songwriters around the country about the deep emotions driving them to lay a bed of music beneath our debate about the war.
The IRE has awarded a certificate to Tom Robbins of The Village Voice for "Lush Life of Rudy Appointee," which proved the virtual, nonstop spending spree of tax dollars by an aide of former New York Mayor Giuliani on items for himself and his friends. The Voice's request for documents and subsequent reporting led to a 17-count indictment this week against Russell Harding, former president of the New York Housing Development Corporation.
As the nation's armed forces prepare for war in Iraq, an internal battle rages at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Westword staff writer Julie Jargon reveals in a series of articles that a growing number of female cadets say they have been sexually assaulted by their male counterparts at the Academy. Air Force cadets theoretically are subject to the strictest discipline and the highest moral standards. But as Jargon reveals, the Air Force's response typically has been to pay more attention to its own interests than to the rights of the victims. As more and more women come forward -- with the support of at least two Colorado Congressmen -- it's becoming evident that, whatever messy jobs it may be asked to do in the Middle East, the Air Force already has plenty of work to do at home.
