Hot off the Press: Democracy fever edition

The publisher of O, a novel about the 2012 Presidential election written by an anonymous writer, has requested that the author decline being identified when asked: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/business/media/19anonymous.html.

Is there a new life for dead malls serving the aging suburban population? Some urban planners are calling for dead malls to be turned into the type of downtown centers suburbs never had: http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/new-lives-for-dead-suburban-malls/?hp. Walkability, bitches!

College class sizes are on the rise at Iowa's public universities: http://thegazette.com/2011/01/21/college-class-sizes-expand-stretching-faculty-and-students/. And so the quality of education Iowans receive at their own state schools will continue to degrade:

“The nature of the interaction changes” as classes get larger, ISU psychology professor Veronica Dark said. “As classes get up around 50, or for some faculty it’s even lower than that, the exams become all multiple-choice exams. You just don’t have the person power to actually look at the writing component.”

Headline: "Former Spy With Agenda Operates a Private C.I.A.": http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/world/23clarridge.html?_r=1&hp.

Independent bookstores are trying to find alternative ways to supplement their book sales and maintaining their niche appeal, like selling wine (which Prairie Lights has begun doing): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/business/media/24indie.html?src=dayp.

Apparently, the LAT has lost a lot of respect in the City of Angels, and many point to its acquisition by the Tribune Company, which refocused the paper's dedication from coverage (damn good coverage) to the bottom line: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/business/media/24latimes.html. Frankly, I thought it was a damn good newspaper when I lived in CA.

Paul Krugman tries to debunk the myth of international competitiveness and says the lessons that should have been learned in 2008 were ignored: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/opinion/24krugman.html.