January 1996

January 1996

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Features

The 1996 Bum Steer Awards

A year of Anna’s antics, biker Barbara, capsized chiles, Davidians defined, expensive electricity, futile freebies, Gramm gossip, helpful hurricanes, insect ingestion, jousting jurors, king-size kindergartens, lottery litigation, Microsoft misprints, naughty nonagenarians, ostracized Oilers, punching princes, questionable quenching, romantic rhinos, sanctified shooters, topless trading, unfriendly unionists, vetoed vagrants, weird wine, X-posed X-presidents, yaklike yearnings, and zilched zoos.

The Public Hell of Bob Carreiro

A daughter’s gruesome murder became a grieving father’s dark crusade to find her killer and thrust him into an ever-widening spotlight as an advocate for victims of violent crime.

by Mimi Swartz

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s Willie Nelson

He may not be a radio staple anymore, but a new tribute album recorded by some of rock’s coolest stars shows that his music still is still moving to them.

by Jan Reid

Hot Potatoes

Is it possible to have a low-fat chip that tastes good? After three years of top-secret tinkering, Frito-Lay thinks it has hit upon the ultimate snacker’s delight.

by Skip Hollandsworth

Spoils Sports

Oilers owner Bud Adams is hightailing it to Nashville; Drayton McLane may move the Astros too—or sell. In Houston and across the country, rooting for the home team is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

by Robert Draper

For Posterity’s Sake

Columns

Behind the Lines

Poets and Pedestrians

Two poets, well versed in the ways of Houston, reflect on the city’s effect on lives and letters.

by Gregory Curtis

Health

Smooth Operator

You might say Tarek Souryal is the most important Dallas Maverick: He doesn’t score or rebound, but he reconstructs million-dollar ankles and knees, and that makes him a real team player.

by Jim Atkinson

Law

Drag.net

When futuristic felons invade their midst, Austin’s computer firms know whom to call: the city’s high-tech police unit, which is building its reputation chip by chip.

by Carol Flake

Food

Virtual Vittles

From chili to chiles, there’s a heaping helping of Texas food on the Internet, including cookoff schedules, mail-order info, recipes, and restaurant reviews. Dig in.

by Patricia Sharpe

Profile

Rush to Justice

Kim Wozencraft meant to spend her life putting drug pushers behind bars—until she became an addict. Now, more than a decade later, she’s fighting against the justice system she once embraced.

by Keith Kachtick