Even in blue-collar Cleveland, the sport commonly known as "ultimate fighting" takes place on society's fringes. It's not uncommon for competitors to break their hands on their opponent's skull. To avoid oversight by the state's athletic commission, promoters don't even pay the men who step into the ring -- or cage -- to beat the living hell out of each other. Yet the carnage continues -- and the sport's popularity grows. As Cleveland Scene staff writer Kevin Hoffman reports, the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization is slowly attempting a rebirth across the nation, hoping to woo a whole new generation of bloodthirsty fans.
Former Village Voice Media President Art Howe is now CEO of a holding company formed by the Mead family of Erie, Pa., which owns the daily Erie Times-News, to pursue purchases of alternative newsweeklies. Cleveland Free Times is the first investment the company has made in an alt-weekly. The management team headed by former Free Times Publisher Matt Fabyan "has been made significant partners," Howe said.
Geri L. Dreiling of the Riverfront Times receives a certificate of merit from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) for a story she did on sexual harassment and discrimination at Texas-based Rent-A-Center.
Eli Sanders reports from the Gaza Strip for The Stranger on the death of Rachel Corrie -- Evergreen student, anarchist, activist, and accidental martyr. The Olympia, Wash., native was defending the house of an Arab doctor when she was killed by one of the giant armored Israeli bulldozers that people here say terrorize them.
