high times

I'm not talking about SAFER leader Mason Tvert's latest pro-pot push — to make marijuana arrests the lowest priority for Denver law enforcement — but the coincidental connections between alternative newspapers and High Country News I've come upon over the past two years. (BTW: HCN is always linked under "things to read" on the right side of this blog.)

This week's Chronicle cover on "green reading" is part reprint of a recent feature from Santa Fe Reporter (also linked at right) freelancer Laura Paskus. Paskus was an outgoing HCN intern as Chronicle news editor Joshua Zaffos was on his way in, and the two remain good friends. Zaffos' intern time at HCN, for which he later became a contributor, coincided with that of former Colorado Springs Independent reporter Dan Wilcock, with whom I briefly worked at the Indy (linked again). Dan moved to Japan (as did former superstar Indy reporter Terje Langeland). All of them have been lauded for their reporting on environmental issues.

In fact, as I was finally catching up on this week's reading, I came across a mention from Slate (in graph three) of Zaff's recent Chronicle feature on Ovocontrol, a new birth control for geese that was developed by scientists in Northern Colorado.

HCN isn't only churning out great altweekly reporters. Last November, they hired former altweekly editor John Mecklin as their editor-in-chief. Mecklin edited now-Village Voice Media-owned alts SF Weekly (San Francisco) and New Times (Phoenix).