Category Archives: Boston

My final editorial for Spare Change News

First Person: A Paper With A Future. Like any good Greater Bostonian, I always dutifully bought each new issue of Spare Change News when it came out every other Friday. Jesse, my Spare Change vendor who sells the paper in Court Square, not too far from the State House in Boston, was a very nice guy. He was big on the mission of the paper and appreciative of the opportunity to sell it. Continue reading …

The Aug. 24-Sept. 6 issue of Spare Change News is now available

The August 24- September 6, 2012 edition of Spare Change News, the Cambridge, MA-based street newspaper, is available in print (PDF format here) and online at www.sparechangenews.net.

Spare Change News writer Noelle Swan delves into the untold history of women’s boxing in “Grand Champ of Women’s Boxing,” about a Massachusetts fighter who took on the all-male boxing establishment to open a door for women.

Don’t miss an in-depth interview with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on Occupy, the Tea Party and the 99 percent from the International Network of Street Papers.

Read about outgoing Editor-In-Chief Thomas Benner’s personal experience with Spare Change News from his days as a customer to his year leading the newsroom in “First Person: A Paper with a Future.”

Meet our new Editor-in-Chief, the Rev. Osagyefo Sekou, and his ambitious plans for the next phase of Boston’s 20-year-old street newspaper.

Coming up in our Sept. 7 issue: Cornel West, The Spare Change News Interview

The Grand Champ of Women’s Boxing: A Massachusetts fighter took on the all-male boxing establishment to open the door to first-ever women’s Olympic boxing


A sneak preview from the next issue of Spare Change News. This, and an interview with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on Occupy, the Tea Party and the 99 percent, will be featured in our next issue. Top photo: Gail “The Champ” Grandchamp of North Adams, Mass., (yes, her real name) took on the all-male boxing establishment and delivered the legal KO that opened the door to this month’s first-ever women’s Olympic boxing competition. Below, Claressa Shields of the U.S. standing with her gold medal during the presentation ceremony for the Women’s Middle (75kg) gold medal boxing match at the London Olympic Games.

Testing, Testing … HIV, and what’s new with Stephen King?

The latest issue of Spare Change News (PDF) features a look by writer Noelle Swan at new legislation aimed at streamlining and normalizing HIV testing. Testing, Testing … HIV tells the story of a Kimberly Wilson, an HIV-positive woman who waited for years for her doctors to give her an HIV test, despite her repeated requests.

Writer Patty Tomsky reflects on the past and present work of Stephen King
in The Once and Future King: Fan Boy and Photo-Essayist, Who Knew?

Be sure to check out Just Don't Go, James Shearer’s column on the Chick Fil-A debacle.

Or read us online at http://sparechangenews.net/

The Rise of Women’s Boxing: From Local Gym to Olympic Arena

The latest issue of Spare Change News takes readers into the world of women’s amateur boxing, just in time for the first-ever women’s Olympic boxing matches this August. You can spend some time in the ring with writer/boxer Noelle Swan by clicking here. Read about efforts to help the homeless during the heat wave. And for a fun look at the 2012 Emmy nominations, which are dominated by the AMC television show Mad Men, read It's a Mad Man's Man's Man's World

A PDF can be found here.

Editorial: Affordable Health Care Ruling: Reason for Joy/Reason for Sadness

A shout of joy. A sigh of relief. A bit of puzzlement. A sense of disappointment. These are all feelings that those who hoped that the Supreme Court would uphold the Affordable Care Act most likely experienced upon hearing of the Supreme Court decision issued on Thursday, June 28, which upheld in part and rejected in part President Obama’s historic health care legislation. Continue reading the latest editorial from the editors of Spare Change News …

Noam Chomsky, The Spare Change News Interview

Read the Spare Change News Interview with Noam Chomsky here. Together with his friend, the late Howard Zinn, Professor Chomsky was one of the first major supporters of Spare Change News. Despite a hectic schedule and pressing demands on his time, he kindly agreed to an interview with Spare Change News in order to discuss — among other things — Occupy Wall Street, the role of elite universities, and his reputation as the “most-cited living author in the world.”

Or read the May 18-May 31 issue in PDF, May 18-May 31 issue, which also includes a tribute to the late children’s author Maurice Sendak and his poignant take on homelessness.

KEEPING HOUSE: Helping Boston Residents Stay in their Home Post-Foreclosure

“KEEPING HOUSE: Helping Boston Residents Stay in their Home Post-Foreclosure” is the cover story in the April 20, 2012 issue of Spare Change News.

Literary Massachusetts: Spare Change News interviews with authors Nick Flynn and Marge Piercy

Nick Flynn: From Boston’s Pine Street Inn to Hollywood is a talk with the author behind the movie “Being Flynn” starring Robert DeNiro, Paul Dano, and Julianne Moore, with a homeless shelter in Boston as its backdrop. Also featured in the March 23-April 5 issue of Spare Change News is an interview with the great poet, fiction writer and feminist Marge Piercy.

The March 23-April 5 issue can be read in PDF format here.

My ad campaign for Spare Change News – “I read it for the articles”

There are some 120 publications within the Glasgow-based International Network of Street Papers, with a global readership of over 6 million per edition. At their best, street papers challenge public perceptions of poverty and social injustice and give voice to the seldom heard. At their worst, they are "pity papers" that passersby purchase because they feel bad for the vendor selling it on the street.

We want people to buy the paper for the quality of the content. Hence the slogan, "I read it for the articles," which has been said before about another, very different type of publication …

(Artwork by Micah Stahl)