onflict lies at the heart of every good story, and we've got plenty of conflict this week: Spanish Americans versus the U.S. Forest Service, health-worried citizens versus a stonewalling government agency, Gentiles versus Jews, and a professional woman against her sexually discriminating employer.

ne article, ¡Viva La Alianza! tells the story of "Rey" Reies Lopez Tijerina, who 30 years ago marched his political party into a small New Mexico town to protest a long-running dispute over ancestral lands. The violent, desperate results shocked the country and left a sad footnote in the little-guy-crushing history of the West. Another story, Dark Data, is not altogether dissimilar: Its players, Nogales citizens on both sides of the U.S./Mexico, have for nearly two years been frustrated by an international agency's stymying tactics over the release of a crucial local toxicity study.

he Conversion Factor recounts the details of a recent Nashvillean spectacle as two prominent religious leaders used their sermons to fight a battle of Gentiles versus Jews. And this report reveals the persistence of sexual descrimination in the workplace, as Rebecca L. Smith found herself repeatedly passed over for promotions at a company called Nu Skin.

lso in this week's issue: Touching tales of fatherhood in Margaret Renkl Home Brood column, a defense of adultery among the powerful by the cantankerous Jeff Smith, and an editorial opinion on the sentencing of Timothy McVeigh.

Captain Opinion
Tobacco should be treated no differently than any other product. [06-06-97]
Cap'n O

Trim Your Waste
Tips for saving water and money. [06-06-97]

¡Viva la Alianza!
Thirty years after the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse Raid. [2]
Kevin Klein

Dark Data
A powerful and secretive commission of the U.S. Sate Department refuses to reveal data concerning pollution that could be harming the citizens of Nogales, Arizona. [3]
Tim Vanderpool

The Conversion Factor
In recent weeks, comments by Don Finto of the Belmont Church have created a stir in the religious community. The question is: Do Christians have a mandate to convert Jews? [4]
Don Finto and Rabbi Stephen Fuchs

City Beat
New Sex-Discrimination Suit for Nu Skin. [5]
Ben Fulton

Sex Fiends
Stray thoughts from southern Arizona's good ol' boy word wrangler. [6]
Jeff Smith

Editorial
An overwhelming amount of evidence shows that capital punishment is far from just. [7]
David O. Dabney

Alma Pater
One mother meditates on the importance of fatherhood. [8]
Margaret Renkl

At All Hours
Staying up all night, when everyone else is fast asleep. [9]
John Bridges

Odds & Ends
The Southern Comfort Free Theatre for the Performing Arts provides a haven for the g-string form in Iowa and English lawyers are more evil than American lawyers. [10]
Devin D. O'Leary

Over A Barrel Cactus
Apparently landscaper Bruce Hart was just too much of a free-thinker for the thought police at ASARCO copper mining company. [11]
Tim Vanderpool

City Beat
Illegal Drugs On Demand at the Prison. [12]
Christopher Smart

Now What?
A Web link page chock full of resources, recommendations, and staff picks pertaining to the subject of this section. [13]