Email Author ANNA MERLAN

2013 Stories by ANNA MERLAN

• FEATURED STORY

  Boy Scouts of America Delegates Vote to Lift Ban On Openly Gay Scouts [Updated]

  published May 23, 2013

  The Boy Scouts of America have formally voted to lift the longstanding ban on openly gay scouts, according to a tweet from a delegate at the meeting where the vote took place. Openly gay scoutmasters ... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  Every Anti-Abortion Bill in the Texas Legislature This Session Has Failed

  published May 23, 2013

  Man. We remember a time, long ago last legislative session, when all your state lawmakers wanted to do was talk about abortion and how much they hated it. They were super-duper against it, as they cou... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  SMU Student Donald Cuba Found Not Guilty of Rape

  published May 22, 2013

  A Dallas County jury has found Donald Cuba not guilty of rape, The Dallas Morning News' Melissa Repko is reporting. Cuba, a 20-year-old junior, was accused of raping a fellow student in a dorm room e... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  At an SMU Student's Rape Trial, Glimpses of the School's Secretive Justice System

  published May 22, 2013

  Last fall, 20-year-old SMU junior Donald Cuba was indicted on charges of raping a fellow student in a dorm room. He was one of two SMU students charged with sexual assault that year (both in the same ... More >>

• Associa CEO and State Senator John Carona's Many Colorful Conflicts of Interest

  published May 20, 2013

  John Carona, our Republican state senator from Dallas, learned some hard lessons this session about how his fellow lawmakers' business interests tend to dominate the doings in the legislature. Last mo... More >>

• One-Year-Old Child Dies After Being Left in Locked Car at Elementary School [Updated]

  published May 17, 2013

  A 1-year-old child died after being left in a locked car in the parking lot of Frank Guzick Elementary School in Pleasant Grove. The child's mother is a teacher at the school, according to a statement... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  The Calvary Church of Granbury Was Reading the Book of Revelation When the Hail Started

  published May 16, 2013

  Last fall, I drove down to the Calvary Church of Granbury, a Pentecostal congregation in the little town southwest of Fort Worth that was devastated by last night's tornadoes. It's a tiny building wit... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  A Special Investigation into the Weird Chalk Marks on This One Dude's Apartment Door

  published May 15, 2013

  This is a weird one. The story comes to us via Reddit (of course), where a resident of an apartment complex near State and Thomas streets in Uptown writes that he's distressed by the appearance of a s... More >>

• Texas Politicians Use Gosnell Verdict to Remind You How Much They Want to Outlaw Abortion

  published May 14, 2013

  If there's one thing everyone in America can agree on this morning, it's that Kermit Gosnell is disgusting and belongs in an especially dank and fetid section of some sort of subterranean prison. In ... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  A Dallas Man Was Sitting at a Park When He Was Kicked in the Face, Forced to Sing a Song

  published May 13, 2013

  It was a really nice day yesterday, wasn't itr Not too windy, not too hot, not too humid. Perfect Sunday weather, all the better to sit in the park, feel the fresh air, and, with any luck, not have so... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  Bryce Reed, a West EMT Whose Best Friend Died in Blast, Arrested for Having "Destructive Device" [Updated]

  published May 10, 2013

  Updated below. Original story, 10:05 a.m.: An EMT and incident commander with West Emergency Medical Services was arrested early this morning on charges of possessing a "destructive device," multiple... More >>

• FEATURED STORY

  Worth the Wait, DISD's Potential New Sex Ed Curriculum, Teaches Some Really Weird Stuff

  published May 09, 2013

  This year, a group of parents and administrators at the Dallas Independent School District embarked on pretty much the most thankless task there is: finding a new sex ed curriculum for the district's ... More >>

• Wait, Why in the Hell Did Facebook Donate Thousands of Dollars to Ted Cruzr

  published May 08, 2013

  It's pretty frequent these days to experience Impotent Facebook Rage (IFR), in which the social media giant does something so profoundly irritating or angry-making that you immediately vow to get off ... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  Sex Ed the Texas Way

  published May 9, 2013

  Teenagers have a favorite word, one they deploy frequently. An easy way to ensure its arrival in conversation is to bring up sex... More >>

• Dallas LGBT Activist C.d. Kirven Arrested This Morning in Austin After Sit-In at the Capitol

  published May 01, 2013

  The Dallas Voice is reporting that local LGBT activist C.d. Kirven was arrested in Austin today after a sit-in at the offices of Senators Bob Deuell and Brian Birdwell, Republicans from Greenville an... More >>

• Arlington Police Would Like An Exemption From State Rep's Proposed Anti-Drone Law

  published Apr 30, 2013

  Last year, the Arlington Police Department bought a pair of teeny tiny adorable drones, which the FAA gave them the go-ahead to fly back in March. The APD was stoked, dubbing their new toys their "Avi... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Girl Who Accused Highland Park Baseball Star Ryan Romo of Rape is Now Suing Him

  published Apr 29, 2013

  The 16-year-old girl who accused a former Highland Park baseball star of rape is now countersuing him in civil court. In March, after a grand jury declined to indict Ryan Romo on rape charges, the ... More >>

• Christian Columnist: Gay Boy Scouts Disappoint Jesus With Their "Sexual Anarchist Agenda"

  published Apr 29, 2013

  Meet Linda Harvey, a talk radio host on a Christian station in Columbus, Ohio. In her free time, she's the founder and main opinion-spewer behind Mission: America, which promotes itself as "Christian ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Poll: Which Dallas Observer Writer is a "Snarky, Superior, Angry Bitchr"

  published Apr 26, 2013

  Hang on to your hats, everybody, because I'm about to give you a super-duper exciting glimpse into the inner workings of the Dallas Observer. We get a lot of email from our readers. Some of it comes d... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  In Brief Answer, Family of Ryan Romo's Accuser Denies Defamation, Other Charges

  published Apr 25, 2013

  Back in March, after a grand jury declined to indict him on charges of rape, former Highland Park High School student Ryan Romo sued his accuser and her family. The complaint alleged five separate cou... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The SMU Community is Celebrating the Bush Library the Way College-Aged W. Would Admire

  published Apr 24, 2013

  Are you excited about the George W. Bush Presidential Centerr We're so excited. Not quite excited enough to fight our way through the throng of ex-presidents and "Bush-Cheney Alumni" attending the de... More >>

• Peace Activists Can Protest the New Bush Center, Judge Rules, So Off They Go

  published Apr 22, 2013

  Last week we told you about a group of activists who were suing the City of Dallas, claiming they're being illegally barred from participating in a protest during SMU's dedication this week of the new... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Steve Stockman, L.A. Filmmaker, Can't Stop Getting Mistaken For Steve Stockman, Crazy Congressman

  published Apr 19, 2013

  The first tweet hurt Steve Stockman's feelings a little. It read, in full: "YOU ARE A STUPID FAT FUCK." "I haven't actually put on any weight lately," Stockman writes in an email. "And though I'm no... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Judge: No More Delays in Trial of University Park Woman Accused of Distributing Child Porn

  published Apr 17, 2013

  Almost a year ago, Erika Perdue, a 41-year-old "socialite" from a tony University Park neighborhood, was arrested and indicted on charges of distributing lots and lots of child pornography. As we repo... More >>

• Six Activists Are Suing Dallas In Federal Court, Claiming They're Being Illegally Barred From Protesting George W. Bush Center Dedication

  published Apr 16, 2013

  Six long-time progressive activists have filed suit against the city of Dallas, claiming they're being illegally barred from protesting the April 25 dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Cente... More >>