Breaking down the whys and wherefores behind the Bay Area's breast cancer rates, among the highest in the world, is a fearsome feat. For North Bay Bohemian writer Allie Gottlieb, it's personal -- she's got all the Bay Area risk factors -- her mother died at 48 of the disease, she's white, educated and affluent. No one knows why breast cancer rates are higher among such women. And treatment? "I think it's a crapshoot whether you make it or not," one expert tells Gottlieb.
Faced with a challenge from the ACLU, the City of Colorado Springs cancels a hearing on its request for an injunction against the Colorado Springs Independent and drops all charges against the paper. The city was trying to block the paper from publishing any information from Detective Jeffrey Huddleston's personnel file. By mistake, the detective's entire file was given to Editor Cara Degette and reporter John Dicker, who were working on an investigative piece. When the mistake was discovered, the City demanded that Dicker turn over the notes he'd been taking.
The bizarre morphing of Sen. Paul Wellstone's memorial into a political rally tilted Minnesota, and maybe other states, into the Republican column Tuesday, Steve Perry concludes in a City Pages (Twin Cities) story. Perry doesn't hold out much hope the Democrats will rise from the ashes of this defeat. He speculates centrist Dems will "broker the candidacies of another wave of pale Republican wanna-be's," part of a trend that had turned even the fiery Wellstone " into a love slave of the party."
Chicago Media Examiner spoofs the Chicago Tribune's new "alternative" weekday tabloid, RedEye. Chicago Red Face has a cool Top Ten Reasons to Read This Web Site list, a whining sports column, lots of blocks of type and pix and a paean to its readers: "You, dear reader, rule the Earth!!! You are most definitely the most coolest person ever ... We love you. We want to perform oral homage on you. We just can't put into words how amazingly incredible you are and how honored we are by your existence. Keep up the good work! "
As he positions himself for a run for the White House, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., is getting his military tickets punched. But he says that's not behind his support for a war in Iraq. Jon Elliston of Independent Weekly looks at the North Carolina senator who some compare to the slain Kennedy brothers or a professional quarterback who can "see the holes" and make snap plays. His appeal to others is more visceral. "I love that man," Ellison quotes a middle-aged woman as cooing. "He's so good-looking."
Richard Meeker, publisher of Willamette Week, says the alt-weekly made pre-tax profits of $365,000 on revenues of $6 million in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2002, and expects to do equally well in the current fiscal year. In his "annual report" to readers, Meeker says the economy "stinks" but his paper has been able to hold its own because newsprint prices have dropped and " local papers like ours have been hurt less than big dailies by the economy's downturn." Meeker also estimates the profits and revenues of The Oregonian, the Portland Tribune, and his alt-weekly rival, The Portland Mercury. "Journalism isn't the Merc's focus; its real appeal is attitude and bargain-basement ad rates," Meeker says.
