In a blistering investigation, Editor Julie Lyons, aka "Bible Girl," dives into Fort Worth Pastor Sherman Allen's decades-long history of alleged sexual abuse. She reports that since late January, when local TV station KXAS broke the story of a lawsuit against Allen by former church member and employee Davina Kelly, seven other women have come forward with tales of paddling and degradation at the hands of the Pentecostal pastor. The victims have also told her that Allen "is involved in the occult, employing such tactics as hypnosis, magic or illusions and the use of healing potions." GetReligion, a blog covering religion in journalism, says: "Lyons is an articulate, opinionated evangelical Christian who is doing some of the most freewheeling, confessional first-person religion writing I have ever seen."
Steven G. Kellman, a contributor to the Texas Observer and San Antonio Current and professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was named the winner yesterday of the National Book Critics Circle's (NBCC) 2006 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, which is awarded to "the most accomplished reviewer," from within the NBCC membership. "Texas is lucky to have Steve Kellman," writes Celia McGee on the NBCC's blog. "His range is open to the most extreme elements, in the writers he considers, but also in himself. That takes guts, and keeps reviewing fresh."
Zac Crain, formerly the Dallas Observer's music editor, recently recruited some prominent Dallas musicians to contribute to a 32-track double-disc benefit album for his mayoral campaign, Pitchfork reports. The album includes contributions from the Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter, Ben Kweller, Rhett Miller, the Deathray Davies' John Dufilho with the Apples in Stereo's Robert Schneider, and Centro-matic. Crain hopes to replace current Dallas mayor and former Observer columnist Laura Miller, who announced last year she doesn't plan to seek re-election.
The syndicated political columnist passed away Wednesday evening at her home in Austin. Ivins, whose column was syndicated in over 400 newspapers, including several alt-weeklies, served as co-editor of AAN member Texas Observer from 1970 to 1976. Even after leaving the Observer for a larger stage, she remained an ardent supporter of the perpetually insolvent bi-weekly, donating speaking fees and book royalties and continuously helping to raise money for the not-for-profit magazine. For the time being, the Observer has dedicated its entire Web site to remembering Molly.
Freelancers Sherry Deatrick of Louisville Eccentric Observer and Jennifer Smith of Isthmus, and Byron Woods, theater and dance critic for the Independent Weekly (Durham, N.C.), have each received fellowships to attend the third National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater at the USC Annenberg School for Communication in Los Angeles. "All the American arts depend on media coverage and intelligent criticism," says NEA chairman Dana Gioia. "The NEA Arts Journalism Institutes provide professional development to improve both the quantity and quality of this country's arts journalism." The Institute, a $1 million NEA initiative, will be conducted next year from Jan. 30 - Feb. 9.
Democratic challenger John Yarmuth edged out 10-year incumbent Rep. Ann Northup to win Kentucky's Third Congressional District. In a taut race, Northup assailed Yarmuth for opinions expressed in columns written for the Louisville Eccentric Observer, an AAN member newspaper he founded; Yarmuth's campaign depicted Northup marching in lockstep with President Bush on Iraq, health care, education and the economy.
Democratic congressional candidate and LEO publisher John Yarmuth seems to have gained some ground in his challenge to five-term Republican Rep. Anne M. Northup. A New York Times article indicates that the GOP stronghold of Kentucky's third Congressional District may now be less so. The Times observes that CQPolitics.com has downgraded the race from "Republican Favored" to "Leans Republican," while another poll gives Yarmuth a 48-47 point advantage over Northup. Northup's zealous support of the war in Iraq and the congressional-page scandal appears to have eroded Northup's voter base, the Times suggests.
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