Those numbers earned Vancouver the description of least affordable housing market in Canada in the survey, which looked at affordability in 325 centres around the world.

Jake Frankel at Mountain Xpress: Local clergy push City Council to pass equality resolution

“As clergy and faith leaders, we experience firsthand the hardships and the struggles of people who are directly effected by these inequalities. And we say it is time to honor the full diversity of our city with full equality for all.”

Joel Warner at Westword: WeedPhone: Medical marijuana technology whose time has come… and gone?

The idea of the MovieFone guy — or better yet, Kramer in his MovieFone-guy voice — telling us where to score pot does sound pretty fantastic.

Gustavo Turner at LA Weekly: David Lynch, (Non-)Musician: The L.A. Weekly Interview

…this approach helped him make the mysterious jump into Hollywood filmmaking, where he remains one of the few working heirs to the great surrealist auteurs of cinema.

Jay Barmann & Brock Keeling at SFist: Vital Queer and Transgendered Health Clinic to Close on Thursday, Local Media Fails to Report

While local online news sites burn pounds of ink on an increasingly tepid KUSF story, a real closure that could cause real tragedy might flare up this week, and no one in the media seems to care

Multnomah County just released the year-end numbers on domestic violence incidents and the numbers are jaw-dropping: Deaths from domestic violence doubled in 2010, compared to 2009.

Joel Warner at Denver Westword: Rick Griffith has designs on Denver. Bold ones.

Usually this mad scientist’s laboratory is off limits to everyone save clients and colleagues; the annual party is the only time all year that MATTER throws open its doors and offers its wider body of work for sale to the general public.

Marcela Garcia at The Phoenix: Governor Patrick offers hope for undocumented-immigrant drivers and college students

In the candid interview (Patrick told me he was going to buy a Mega Million ticket later in the day), the Governor seemed to be genuinely open to finding a way to identifying every person that drives a car in the Commonwealth, whether he is in the country illegally or not.

Wren Abbot at Santa Fe Reporter: Family to Sue Jail

The family of the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility inmate who died of an apparent suicide plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the county, according to Richard Martinez, a paralegal at The Rothstein Law Firm.

Kyle Munzenrieder at Miami New Times: Will Gay Voters Save the Republican Party?

…one local GOP group is thinking long term. It argues that the party needs to moderate itself on social issues and attract gay voters in order to remain relevant, and it slams social conservatives as ignorant.

Clothes that fit right are a common concern for a lot of transsexual individuals who are looking for a good Friday night frock – or even just an outfit to wear to work.

Kinsee Morlan at San Diego City Beat: Beautiful precision

Carini has Tourette syndrome, and, along with some of the negative symptoms—anxiety, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, mood swings and physiological tics—it’s part of why he’s so prepared for the interview.

Patrick Range McDonald at La Weekly: Mission Drift at Gay Inc.

Critics charge that Kors, intent on building an empire, makes a critical error by snubbing the smaller, grassroots gay rights organizations that bring new blood, ideas and contact with ordinary people.

Robert Crowe at San Antonio Current: Sinking feelings

For some folks, the water future of South Texas boils down to simple math – when you suddenly pull millions of gallons from local aquifers without replenishing that supply, there’s going to be less for homes, farms, and ranches.

Bob Moser at the Texas Observer: The Gayest of Times, the Worst of Times (content note for discussions of physical assault, homophobia)

As much as anything, Beltran was mystified by the response—not just of the police, but of the silent witnesses who didn’t lift a finger, didn’t call 911, didn’t take down the license-plate number, didn’t use their cell phones to photograph the perpetrators.

At one point, prosecutors weren’t sure they could nab a cocky Smith and he walked free as a man worth $5 million as a result of inheriting Minnie’s half of their estate.

Jay J. Johnson-Castor, Sr. at San Antonio Current: Inside the Checkpoints

Governor Rick Perry is unquestionably the governor of a border state … but he’s no fronterizo.

Lesley Kinzel at Two Whole Cakes: Dear Ryan Murphy: I have words about Glee

But you, Ryan Murphy, you have to go and ruin it by making Lauren’s defining characteristic an obsessive love of candy.

Sarah Phelan at San Francisco Bay Guardian: Elizabeth Edwards, breast cancer and the battle for a cure

In fact, I only became aware that Edwards had passed away, because Sup. Michela Alioto-Pier, who was sitting in front of me, was surfing the Internet on her laptop and I happened to see the headline.

Stephen Thompson at Straight: Report questions independence and credibility of B.C. College of Teachers

In May, education minister Margaret MacDiarmid initiated the review of the regulatory body after a majority of college council members requested action by the B.C. government.

Greg Hambrick at Charleston City Paper: Repeal of military’s gay ban coming either in two weeks or two years

The ban on gays serving openly will either end in the next two weeks or it will sit in legislative limbo for at least the next two years.

Then, on June 5, 2002, they abducted their first virgin, Elizabeth Smart, and took her, on foot, up into the hills above her home in Federal Heights, where they had a camp in some scrub oak.

The Guardian: Comment is free: The people’s panel: Cif readers on … giving to charity

Increasingly, governments are relying on charities to do their work; things such as homeless outreach services and provision of food, for example, are being handled by religious charities in my rural community in the US, rather than by the government.

Moe Tkacik at Washington City Paper: Betsy Rothstein’s Fishbowl D.C. is the Gossip Column the Beltway Media Deserves

She embarked upon the mission with the same editorial philosophy that had brought “12 Jesuses” to fruition: Show up. Write what you see. Don’t force trends that aren’t there. And pay attention to the hair.

Melissa Meinzer at Riverfront Times: Same-sex couples in St. Louis can get married in Iowa. They just can’t ever get divorced.

Sixteen hours and almost 600 miles later, the day is officially…meaningless.

Melissa Del Bosque at the Texas Observer: Carlos Guerra: Rest In Peace, Friend

He had the kind of institutional knowledge and unfailing empathy for the underdog that made his voice unique and powerful in Texas journalism.

Dan D’Ambrosio at the Hartford Advocate: The Pardue Brothers Killed A Bunch Of People (Including Their Grandma!), Robbed A Bunch Of Banks And Blew Up A Ton Of Stuff. Was This Connecticut’s Most Spectacular Crime Spree?

Oh, and they also managed to sneak a gun into a prison cell.

After 10 years of investigations, meetings, friendly e-mails, not-so-friendly e-mails, subpoenas, a pre-trial, a jury trial, legal fees, settlement offers and the possibility of an appeal, the Boy Scouts and the city of Philadelphia finally reached an agreement.

Devon Maloney at Weekly Dig: Steal This Shirt

According to AA employees, “what gives” are the employees themselves: The company’s worst-kept secret is a combination of lax security and corrupt management that virtually encourages them to steal, a combination that’s led to employees at multiple retail locations in the United States, individually and in teams, stealing countless thousands of dollars in merchandise from the company.

Valerie Wells and Donna Ladd at Jackson Free Press: Rush to Judgment: Trying Kids As Adults

She called in about 5:30 p.m., and they said they needed to ask him a few questions. She took him in voluntarily without any sense that he was a suspect.

Joe Tarr at The Isthmus: Locked and loaded

He’s a founding member of Wisconsin Carry and an advocate for the right to carry guns, both openly and concealed.

Gene Maddaus at LA Weekly: L.A.’s Light-Rail Fiasco

The Expo Line is a staggering $260 million over budget — 40 percent above the initial price — and it may open as much as two years behind schedule.

Within days, several of them would be gone and the others would be mired in the secretive detention system, waiting out of public view to be sent home.

Dave Mann at Texas Observer: DNA Tests Undermine Evidence in Texas Execution

Claude Jones always claimed that he wasn’t the man who walked into an East Texas liquor store in 1989 and shot the owner.

Marisa Demarco at Alibi: A gay soldier’s life of service

More than 14,000 service members have been discharged in 16 years under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. “That’s enough to form an entire Army infantry division,” Loomis points out.

Katherine Schweigert at Creative Loafing: My $100,000 in annual injections

Ultimately, my condition can lead to permanent fusion of the vertebrae, or what is adorably referred to as “bamboo spine.” To prevent bamboo spine, I take a number of medications and receive a variety of treatments.

David S. Bernstein at the Boston Phoenix: Kids In The Hall

As we turn toward the city-election year of 2011, city councilors have been taking positions, holding hearings, and gathering community support, sometimes in opposition to Mayor Tom Menino.

But I was the one who coined the word reggae and said, “Let’s do the reggae.”

Christopher Twarowski at Long Island Press: Sands Point Preserve is Being Destroyed by the Group Entrusted to Protect It

A rare and historic tree is rammed repeatedly with a crane after being dismembered by chainsaws to make way for fresh concrete, fencing and a deck (comprised of pressure-treated wood).

Charmaine Ortega Getz at Boulder Weekly: Don’t fret when the bed bugs bite

But DDT was banned in 1972, and the primitive little insect species called cimex lectularius is surprisingly resistant to anything less lethal.

Lake Terrace at Charleston City Paper: Gay and lesbian youth should not be afraid of who they are

And, unbeknownst to anyone, especially me, I was gay.

R. Scott Moxley at OC  Weekly: The Real Squatters of OC

He does, however, look like the kind of guy who might pull a moving truck up to a vacant home in one of Orange County’s most exclusive neighborhoods, move in uninvited, change the locks and declare himself a permanent resident.

Part I: The Opener

Ah, look, casual ableism, homophobia, and ageism. Gosh, Glee, I missed you so much when you were randomly not airing and then I let that one episode fall through the black hole because AT&T turned off my phone ‘by accident’ and I was moving. Now I remember why I was dreading the inevitable return of my Glee viewing. And oh hey, the usual tropes about teen boys being unable to control their rampaging hormones unless they imagine really ‘gross’ things while making out! Oh goody, gender essentialism! Fuck, why do people watch this show.

But, oh, this is the bullying episode! Hence, we need to see a few scenes of Kurt being threatened to make sure we all understand the magnitude of the problem here. And here…is this a glimmer of hope I see, Glee? Are we having a scene in an office where Kurt gets the tone argument (‘You’re too sad. And angry! Why do you let it get to you?’) and he lays down the law? I think we are! I think Kurt is telling Schue what’s what here, and I am quivering with excitement. You go, Glee, break out of the box, and remind your viewers that, hey, being bullied? Tends to make you sad. And angry.

Part II: Oh

I would find it more believable that we’re supposed to dislike Puck for being a douchebag who provides total bro lessons in ‘how to manage women’ if I didn’t have the sneaking suspicion that the writers 100% believe words of wisdom like those dispensed by Puck on a regular basis.

Part III: Kurt Enters the Halls of Privilege and Learns Lessons From Wise Boys in Blazers

‘Refuse to be the victim.’

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, GLEE? This is how you have decided to confront bullying. To tell people being abused that running away (saving yourself) is BAD and WRONG and makes you a pathetic failure, and instead you should ‘stand up’ to your bully. Because nothing works better, when it comes to bullying, than making yourself a bigger target. What a GREAT message to send QUILTBAG youth who are experiencing bullying and abuse at school. So I guess the takeaway about the scene with Schue is that actually Kurt is too angry and sad, not that people who think like Schue does are wrong and not helping.

And I note that Shue can stand up to his students when it comes to engaging in egregious behaviour directed at the athletic coach, but he’s apparently incapable of taking action when it comes to the persistent homophobia within the glee club. I love his added side of cluelessness; ‘don’t take it personally,’ he says, to a woman who is being mocked by people who imagine her in lingerie when they try to muster the most disgusting thing they can think of. How else should she take this, exactly?

Part IV: *sighs heavily*

Oh you go, Glee, with the endless hipster ableism. I bet the majority of your demographic eats that shit up.

So, Kurt’s monologue here started out pretty solid, confronting common stereotypes about gay men. Buuuuut…we really went with the ‘internalised homophobia is the reason for bullying’ argument? Really.

Part V: Shue, You Are Such A Fucking Hypocrite

Thanks for the extensive lecture on how bad it is to hurt people who are ‘important additions to the school,’ Schue. Don’t choke on the hypocrisy there while your gay student is suffering as a result of relentless bullying. The same gay student who has to call on a peer from another school for assistance because his level of support at his own school is so abysmal. Granted, Blaine isn’t terribly helpful what with his victim blaming BS, but he’s doing more than Kurt’s classmates and the teachers/administration at his own school.

And Schue, getting angry at people who are being bullied is so very productive. Please, keep it up. Make sure to tell the victim that this is all her own fault for being so weak, that will definitely make her feel better, and then keep up with the unstoppable cheery chipperness, I hear that’s highly effective. Round off with a nice, gagworthy ‘affirmative’ statement to end your pep talk!

Part VI: Hooray, It’s Over

So…apparently after using a woman as the butt of your in-joke, you can make it all better with a musical mashup. And if you’re openly gay and in high school, I guess life just sucks for you. Too bad!

Conclusion: It turns out I hate the individual parts of Glee as much as I hate their sum. And here, have some further reading on how completely awful the handling of bullying was in this episode.

Rape is used as a weapon, torture is endemic, and extrajudicial killings are common. Burma is a country where even talk of human rights can result in a person’s disappearance.

Bianca Phillips at the Memphis Flyer: Discrimination Debate

Proponents of a city ordinance protecting its gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) workers from discrimination say fear of retaliation has kept employees from coming forward to talk about unfair treatment.

B at Being Light Skinded: Segregation

I guess that it is a rainbow of diversity in that there are separate stripes of color.

Melissa Del Bosque at the Texas Observer: What the GOP Sweep Means for Immigration Reform

Candidates around the country who demonized Latinos and campaigned on little else beyond securing the border won seats, and were rewarded for their demagoguery.

Matthew Green at East Bay Express: The Art of Canvassing

White and Mitchell are among the robust army of young, progressively minded, low-wage street-soldiers who emerge ubiquitously at peak moments in bustling thoroughfares throughout the Bay Area.

Dennis Romero at LA Weekly: What Killed Prop. 19?

A long-shot campaign by a one-man band — a pot-shop owner from Oakland — turned into a bona fide movement to reconsider America’s long-standing marijuana prohibition.