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Don’t steal free papers!

We at Various Things & Stuff are proud to be the editor of a free paper, Las Vegas CityLife. At more than 2,500 locations in Las Vegas every week, you can find out what’s going on in local music, arts and restaurants, in addition to getting some top-notch criticism of films, restaurants, CDs and DVDs. And that’s on top of news and some of the best commentary in Las Vegas from authors such as George Knapp, Chip Mosher and Hugh Jackson.

What does it cost you? Nothing. It’s free.

But sometimes, nefarious types try to screw you out of that deal by stealing free papers like CityLife, whole stacks of them. Sometimes they do it because they don’t like what’s in the paper. (That happened to UNLV’s award-winning student newspaper, The Rebel Yell, not so long ago after a story was published on Mideast violence. We know because we sit as a member of The Rebel Yell’s advisory board.) Other times, thieves are aiming to recycle the newsprint for money. And some are just dicks.

Anyway, Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen is trying to put an end to free newspaper theft with a new bill, AB 257. It would make taking more than 10 copies of a free newspaper a misdemeanor. The bill will get a hearing at 8 a.m. Monday in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. (The hearing will be videoconferenced to Room 4401 of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building at 555 E. Washington Ave. here in Las Vegas.)

Needless to say, we think AB 257 is a great idea, not just because it will help our industry (it will, to be sure) but also because it will protect you readers who don’t want to miss out on free publications such as CityLife and The Rebel Yell. So our great thanks to Assemblyman Kihuen. We urge everybody in the Legislature to support this bill.

UPDATE: The hearing on AB 257 has been moved to 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18, in the same place.

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11 Responses to “Don’t steal free papers!”

Touche!

Are you admitting that your partisan gripe sessions couldn’t get published without the help of the nightclub scene touting the next celebrity degenerate to grace the VIP section of an overpriced nightclub.

Most of the columns in this magazine, good or bad, have as much staying power as a fart inside your “Obama08″ stickered Prius.

I will give you this, people who steal the paper are douchebags.

And why do I choose to read? I like celebrity degenerates, music and occasionally throwing a verbal knife into the fray.

It’s wise to be informed from all angles, even those you might disagree with.

I have realized the danger posed by the left, the right, the demicans and the republirats and I am just a sucker getting run over in the middle, so let me have my fun!

Or maybe I should re-evaluate what it is I am doing with my life too.

Insight is a valuable thing. Have a good one, Steve.

Written by: RC on Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2009 at 8:01 PM

Smackdown by Sebelius! It may not be the most significant issue of our time, but it’s ridiculous that anyone would fight an effort to stop folks from stealing papers to silence free speech.

Written by: Jeff Simpson on Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2009 at 4:15 PM

Oh, but RC, we can convince people it’s worth buying! Those people are called advertisers and you see their ads in every issue and online. Most newspapers earn the majority of their revenue from advertising; only a small portion comes from subscriptions and newsstand sales.

But we wonder, if CityLife is such a rag, why is a sophisticated person such as yourself reading a blog on the newspaper’s website? If your theory is correct, and the paper is worth nothing, then should not your reading of it cause you to “…have yourself a serious talk about what it is you are doing with your life”?

We prefer to be positive: CityLife is just dandy. That way, both our lives have meaning!

Written by: Steve Sebelius on Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2009 at 3:30 PM

And this is proof positive that the opinions expressed by a great majority of the esteemed authors you publish, Chip Mosher withstanding, are worth exactly what the paper costs 99.9 percent of the time.

When you can’t even convince people its worth buying, and it is used as a commercial resource to make money, isn’t that time to have yourself a serious talk about what it is you are doing with your life?

Written by: RC on Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2009 at 2:37 AM

I actually support your stance on the bill. Much like my papers at UNLV, someone nabbed my good name, and used it to be argumentative with you.

I hope you would recognize that I wouldn’t make such a grammatical error. Misogynistic, maybe, but grammatically incorrect, no.

Written by: Justin on Friday, Mar. 13, 2009 at 10:54 AM

Justin, we’re surprised at you! Have you not learned yet? It’s “How will the homeless, for whom CityLife claims to advocate, stay warm at night?” Frankly, we expected more.

Written by: Steve Sebelius on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2009 at 9:26 PM

How will the homeless, who CityLife claims to advocate for, stay warm at night? Ten papers won’t cover it. Just looks like Steve and the free weekly crew are out to screw the hopeless after all.

Written by: Justin on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2009 at 8:49 PM

That’s right Robert. It’s Stevie’s Blog and if you make him and his friends cry you can’t play.

Free paper theft?! Yea, it’s right up there on the “Things to Do to Save the World” list. Now, now don’t cry Stevie.

Written by: Save the Whales on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2009 at 8:33 PM

Calm down, Robert. If you’ll read the text again, S-L-O-W-L-Y, while sounding out all the words and consulting your dictionary frequently, you’ll learn we never claimed this was the most pressing issue ever. Far from it. But it is an issue, and thus, it has a place on this blog.

Written by: Steve Sebelius on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2009 at 6:42 PM

ROBERT- YOU’RE AN IDIOT. YOU’RE PROBABLY PISSED OFF BECAUSE YOU’RE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT STEAL THESE NEWSPAPERS. THESE HARD ECONOMIC TIMES ARE PART OF THE REASON THIS PROBLEM EXISTS– PEOPLE STEAL THEM TO RECYCLE THEM AND MAKE MONEY. IM SURE SOME OFFICIALS ARE SMART ENOUGH TO MULTI-TASK AND DEAL WITH MULTIPLE STATE ISSUES AT A TIME. GET A LIFE BUDDY!

Written by: Robert's an IDIOT on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2009 at 3:56 PM

Is this what you are really worried about free newspaper theft. Are you for real with all the problems in the world, you are sweating FREE newspaper theft. How do you steal something that is GIVEN away for FREE. The stupidity of this new bill only confirms the statement ” the masses are asses”. Quit the stupid,banal,timewasteing idiocracy and start doing something to get the people of this area the leadership they need to pull us out of this recession. Do it now or you moronic politicians will be in the same unemployment line as your constituents.

Written by: Robert on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2009 at 3:28 PM
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