Solid as an '88 Sable by Rick Anderson

Local story, national angle, nicely done. Rick Anderson reports on the less-than-stellar performance of Boeing's Apache helicopters in Kosovo. Long story short: They are crashing and burning, and that's just on the practice runs. Is this why Milosevic has that happy, Newt-like grin all the time?

"TiVolution" by Larry Sarchin

For the longest time, Internet companies were stealing all their metaphors from the world of TV. Remember channels, anyone? The interesting thing about Larry Sarchin's article on the latest in computer/boob-tube technology is not the gadgets themselves, but statements like this one from Jim Plant, marketing director for a technology company called Replay: "It's like Yahoo! for your TV ... It's a portal for television." I think I'll go link to another channel now ...

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When they're not selling classified ads for bondage or listing performances by bar bands, alternative weeklies are pursuing the lefty spin on the local news. This is what they exist for; it's what they're good at. Below are stories to make your heart bleed and ache with deep yearning to make a difference.

The Boston Phoenix, May 13-19

Clinton's Mexican narco-pals by Al Giordano

Quick! Somebody alert Project Censored! This story was not covered by the news media! Oh, wait, it's being covered now, and it's actually quite good. Al Giordano writes about how President Clinton's visit to Mexico in February was hosted by a coke trafficker and not a single American journalist typed one word about it, even though it was headline news throughout the summit. Of course, even if they had, would anybody care?

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Willamette Week, May 12-18

"A Night at the Races" by Mac Montandon

OK. Mac Montandon's article is a fun and peppy piece on all the colorful characters that go to greyhound races. But it is preceded by an ominous disclosure: "According to People for Animal Rights, as many as 20,000 dogs die each year in the greyhound-racing industry." Not just any old dogs, either: beautiful, sleek animals who are pushed to their physical limits and rewarded with more cruelty while their owners get fat. There are organizations working now to save these dogs, rescuing them from the tracks and putting them up for adoption.

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Salt Lake City Weekly, May 13-19

"Kids on the Street" by Leslie Reynolds

It's the kind of story they dole out Society of Professional Journalists awards for every year: a real, heartbreaking account of homeless teens -- teens are big! huge! -- told by a passionate journalist, usually female. I'm not saying it's not an important issue. It is. And this piece is a fine example of how to write these stories. But every time I read this story, I have to roll my eyes, just a little.

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San Francisco Bay Guardian, May 12-18

"Crossing the Line" by Arturo Perez, as told to Don Ray

I don't think I've seen any other story like this. It's a first-person account by someone who crossed the U.S. border from Mexico. I've read accounts by journalists who've gone along with groups of immigrants; I've read interviews with those who've crossed and hadn't made it. But this account is unshaped by an outsider's point of view, save for whatever editing was necessary to make it publishable. "As told to" stories are easy to do, and enrich content, but generally don't run because journalists like to see their bylines attached to their "take." And alas, stories like this one are seldom told.

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L.A. Weekly, May 14-20

"Unsocial Studies" by Erin J. Aubry

This article is not the "Greek tragedy," that "can only be described in epic terms" that writer (and sometime Salon contributor) Erin J. Aubry describes it as (Sheesh!). But it is a powerful and provocative look at the explosion of racial tensions at one L.A. high school. Aubry writes from the perspective of the not-so-open-minded observer whose ideas about the good guys and the bad guys get mangled as she investigates charges that two teachers are racists.
salon.com | May 14, 1999

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