Doug Clifton, editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, says a recent Cleveland Free Times column "can charitably be called a total fabrication." David Eden, editor in chief of the Free Times, had written that Plain Dealer "Publisher Alex Machaskee offered up [Auxiliary Bishop James] Quinn's head on a platter to Clevelanders as a smokescreen to save the neck of Bishop Anthony Pilla, a man he favors." Not so, Clifton says.
Every year since early in the 20th century some of the wealthiest men in the world retreat to the lavish Bohemian Grove in California for a secret weekend of what? Fun and frolic? Human sacrifice? Illuminati meditations? Romping in their true reptilian alien forms? No one knows, but theories abound. R.V. Scheide of Sacramento News & Review looks into both the tin-foil hat conspiracy theories and more down-to-earth protests.
Alt-weekly designers discussed the value of new software upgrades during a recent design and production listserv exchange on aan.org. The conclusion? "To put it bluntly -- InDesign just spanks Quark's little bottom," says Mike Spain, advertising art director of Arkansas Times.
Kerry Farley, now general manager of Impact Weekly, says Yesse Communications "will probably only continue to exist as long as it owes money." Meanwhile, several key employees are back on the job at Impact, and Farley tells AAN News a sale of the paper is not imminent. In Springfield, Ill., Bud Farrar is busy taking back Illinois Times, a paper he owned for 20 years before selling it to Yesse in 1997.
David Horvath hanged himself in an Arizona juvenile corrections facility earlier this month, the second youth to kill himself in the state facility this year. Now, two juvenile corrections officials -- both of whom quit in disgust after Horvath's death -- tell Phoenix New Times writer Amy Silverman the agency is hiding evidence of suicidal behavior by youths in their custody to shield the agency from bad press and insurance claims by families.These deaths come in the midst of a broad investigation into the agency by the federal Justice Department, an inquiry sparked by earlier New Times stories on the state corrections department.
Deep in the Web underground are pro-anorexia sites and chat rooms where Ana and Mia (anorexia and bulimia) are goddesses. Many of these "pro-ana" sites were dropped from Yahoo and MSN last year due to heavy public pressure. Baltimore City Paper's Natalie Davis found that they are still out there, offering comfort to the anguished, tips on losing weight, triumphant messages about getting to 65 pounds and mourning for those who die. Davis, who has flirted with eating disorders herself, peeks into a hermetic world rarely seen by outsiders and even more rarely understood.
Pointblank, a start-up alternative weekly, challenges Cityview as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. Three former Cityview staffers, including former Editor Jon Gaskell, say they will provide a genuine alternative voice in Iowa's capital city. Cityview Publisher Connie Wimer says she welcomes the competition.
