Cover: Dead Beat
Ex-'60s radical John Sinclair on William Burroughs.

News: Failing Grades
Public agencies flunk grand jury's Y2K preparedness survey.

IDA Ideal: Community collaborative prepares 401k plan for the poor.

Pregnant Pause: Religious right rushes to fill post-abortion counseling void.

Durst's Law: Comedian Will Durst on the Y2K mess.

Up to the Task?: See how your kids' school did in the state Standardized Testing and Reporting program.

Climbing Up on Capitol Hill: Check up on the your Congressional Representatives and U.S. Senators--where they stand, how they voted.

Spins: New release by the Roots, Steve Earl, Built to Spill, and more.

New Wave: Blondie delivers a strong comeback CD.

Talking Pictures: Employment specialist Heather Shea on Office Space, the new Dilbert-meets-Kafka office-worker comedy.

Butt Ugly: Behind the marketing madness surrounding 200 Cigarettes.

Mussel Beach: She shells seashells ... you know the rest.

Wine Lines: Size matters and other thoughts on wine pricing.

Heard It Through the Grapevine: Get to the root of all things wine.

'Hamlet' on a Half Shell: Fred Curchack's electrifying one-man Hamlet.

A Carnival of the Last Days: A new book and CD expose thrill seekers to the shocks and shivers of the new millennium.

Obscured by 'Blue Light': Walter Mosley turns from mysteries to science fiction in a new novel.

Chip Lit: Joe Hutsko, Po Bronson and Pat Dillon are busy creating the newest microgenre: the Silicon Valley Horatio Alger novel.