Please note that Utne Senior Editor, Jon Spayde will appear on the new Dennis Miller Show, CNBC, on March 17 & March 18 to discuss how we as a country can re-energize the political process. His first appearance is a one-on-one with Miller, the second show features Spayde as part of a political pundit panel. (Both shows air at 6pm, 9pm & midnight Pacific time.)

FREE BEER WHEN VOTING FOR THE NEXT PREZ (AND WHO MIGHT SWING THE VOTE), BETTER WAYS TO LET CITIES GO TO THE DOGS -- AND "CHICK LIT" (ITS BLESSING AND ITS CURSE) HIGHLIGHT LATEST UTNE MAGAZINE

MINNEAPOLIS, MN., -- March 8, 2004 -- George Washington ran up a sizeable bar tab during his run for a House of Burgesses seat in the 1750s, so why not reward FREE BEER to the pols who go to the polls in the 2004 presidential race? That's just one of the apathy-busters listed in Utne magazine's March-April issue, among other incentives such as offering voters discounts at neighborhood hangouts after people have voted, fines for those who don't cast a ballot, changing election day to a weekend and a tax break for participating in the process.

Utne makes a convincing argument that the democratic system needs to get the party jump-started if the republic is to survive in the 21st century, and lists seven ways to reform election day. Other stories about the upcoming race include insightful views from the alternative press about who might swing the next election (single women, 30 million new immigrants, including Arab-American who voted heavily for W. last time -- but not this time -- and rural America, which is being "eviscerated by the lack of health rural care, and by trade policies that are particularly destructive to rural economies.")

In the same pages, Utne writer Anjula Razdan surveys both "Petropolis" and the "Chick Lit Challenge." She finds in the former that the next step in urban revitalization "just might hinge on whether or not people with pets feel welcome," while in the latter discovers that publishers marketing books by new women writers can both bless and/or curse those authors, rather than positioning their works as solid (feminist) literature.

While urban centers are increasingly defining the American family, the true measure of a community might be the way its treats or mistreats its pets, she notes. Citing dog parks in the Twin Cities, Boston, Berkeley and other cities, Razdan also points out that more dog-friendly living rules in elderly housing complexes, for example, and more dog-friendly cityscapes are not only good for canines, they're beneficial to humans, too.

Her other story hopes to make the public and publishers more sensitive to the ways in which current and upcoming female writers are being sold by lumping many into the "Chic Lit" category. Razdan's balanced look at the pro(se) and cons of the issue offers stimulating discussion on both sides: One person's condescending view of "Chick Lit" might be seen by another's total embrace of the pop-fad genre simply as great, entertaining reading. Her article's subtitle, "Do trendy novels for young women smother female expression -- or just put a little fun in feminism?" -- sums it up best.

About Utne magazine
Utne is a national progressive lifestyle magazine with a paid circulation of 225,000. Since 1984, Utne has been a leading voice for the alternative and independent press, bringing readers the "other side of the story" on issues ranging from the environment to the economy, from international relations to pop culture.

For more information, please contact Lisa Proctor at 612-338-5040 ext.338, or online at lproctor@utne.com