Email Author Sam Merten

Awards

• 2011 - National Council on Crime and Delinquency/Prevention for a Safer Society Award, published October 7, 2010

  "A Few Troubled Men"

• 2011 - Lone Star Awards, published February 4, 2010

  "Outlawed"

• 2010 - Lone Star Awards, published October 15, 2009

  "Guilty"

• 2010 - Lone Star Awards, published February 5, 2009

  "The Young and the Restless"

• 2009 - Katie Awards, published June 26, 2008

  "For Whom the Bell Tolls"

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2011 Stories by Sam Merten

• Enjoy a Kitchen-Free Xmas

  published December 22, 2011

  Let’s be honest. The last thing you want to do on Christmas Day is spend a bunch of time cooking. Since you deserve a tasty meal after weeks... More >>

• Cows on Ice

  published December 22, 2011

  Remember the Dallas Freeze? OK, we’ll help you out. They were one of six original members of the Central Hockey League in its inaugural... More >>

• Comedy and the Beast

  published December 8, 2011

  About 350 years before modern day comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Daniel Tosh, French actor and playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (known by his... More >>

• Giving Photog Terry Falke His Due

  published December 8, 2011

  Unless you're an extreme coupon clipper, there's not much you can find these days that won't cost anything, yet admission to Afterimage Gallery in... More >>

• Get Your Motor Running

  published December 1, 2011

  You've probably heard of The Smothers Brothers, but The Smage Brothers? Probably not so much, unless you're a big fan of NBC's America's... More >>

• Get a Handel on the Holiday

  published November 24, 2011

  The story of Jesus Christ’s life and resurrection has been told in countless ways, but German-born composer George Frideric Handel’s... More >>

• Bless Us, Everyone

  published November 24, 2011

  Few books are embedded in American culture like A Christmas Carol, the classic Charles Dickens novel about Ebenezer Scrooge and the... More >>

• Chilling With Mice

  published November 17, 2011

  While our favorite thing on ice is whiskey, we’re guessing most kids (hopefully) have a different opinion. Of course, we’re talking... More >>

• See Them Pearly Whites

  published November 10, 2011

  You don’t have to be a fan of the Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week or Steven Spielberg’s box-office juggernaut... More >>

• Do the Zoo, You

  published November 3, 2011

  If you’ve been to the Dallas Zoo lately, you’ve likely noticed that it’s a heckuva lot better than it has been in years past,... More >>

• Gorgeous George

  published October 27, 2011

  His face is on the one-dollar bill, the quarter and Mount Rushmore, and he may or may not have chopped down the cherry tree as a child. You know... More >>

• Blues, Bandits & BBQ: The Sequel

  published October 20, 2011

  Upon arrival at the Kessler last year for the inaugural Blues, Bandits & BBQ shindig, there was little doubt it would become an annual... More >>

• Get This Fiesta Started

  published October 6, 2011

  Recent census data tells us what we already know: Hispanics outnumber non-Hispanic whites in Dallas by a sizeable margin — more than 150,000,... More >>

• Weekend Warriors

  published September 29, 2011

  If you hadn't noticed, boot camps have been among the hottest fitness trends for years, which is why Camp Gladiator -- one of the state's most... More >>

• Back in the Death Star

  published September 22, 2011

  Just how watered-down is the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry these days? It certainly doesn't help that Washington has posted a winning record... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  Dallas' Next Mayor Will Face Tough Budget Choices. Too Bad The Candidates Won't Talk About Them.

  published April 14, 2011

  The group of mayoral hopefuls—the police chief, the politician, the CEO and the long shot—agree on just about... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  Observer's Unofficial Visitors Guide to Dallas Stuff or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Super Bowl

  published February 3, 2011

  Be Our Guests We're Getting the Hell Out Anyway On behalf of the Host Committee For Pimping Out the Super Bowl, it is... More >>

• A Tourists Guide to a Dozen Dirty Deeds by Dallas Cowboys

  published February 3, 2011

  The Dallas Cowboys are known for a lot of things: eight Super Bowl appearances, the hottest cheerleaders in sports, the grandiosity that comes... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  Bill Fisher handed the FBI a chance to clean up City Hall. Does that make Fisher Mr. Clean?

  published January 27, 2011

  The scene could have been lifted from any of a dozen cops-and-robbers movies: Nervous crooks and an undercover informant gather for a... More >>