Observer awarded

Two Dallas Observer staff writers and Editor Julie Lyons were winners in two national writing and reporting competitions among alternative newspapers.

Reporters Christine Biederman and Thomas Korosec were awarded first place for investigative reporting among newspapers with circulation greater than 54,000 by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. They won for their August 13 report "Toxic justice" about the practices of Baron & Budd, a Dallas law firm that specializes in representing people exposed to the carcinogen asbestos. The story examined allegations that the firm improperly coached its clients to provide testimony that might not be true.

Lyons was named one of the "Golden Dozen" for non-daily opinion by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors for her April 23, 1998, column "Fears and loathing in Oak Cliff," about racist city council candidate James Fears.