Bill Miller

Historic Tabernacle Stolen in Brazen Burglary, Eucharist Desecrated at St. Augustine Church - The...

First Place — Best Investigative News Writing. Judges: "A well-organized piece that gives context and an important call to action."

Mystery Solved: Parish to Salvage Mother's Memorial to Her Child - The Tablet

Third Place — Best News Writing on a Local or Regional Event. Judges: "This is just a cool read — and the writer 100% makes it all that it is."

'Napalm Girl' Shares Christ During 50th Anniversary of Iconic Photo - The Tablet

Honorable Mention — Best News Writing on a Local or Regional Event.

Man Charged with Hate Crime Following Vandalism Arrest at Catholic Church in Flushing - The Tablet

Third Place: Best Multimedia Package — Violence in our Communities (shared with Currents News).

HOPE & A PRAYER: Haiti struggles to rebound 12 years after earthquake

Third Place: Best News Writing Series — International Event (Shared by John Lavenburg and Bill Miller). Judges: "No reader walks away from this piece unmoved."

The Tablet & Nuesta Voz: Best Weekly Diocesan Newspaper and Best Spanish Publication

First Place for The Tablet, Third Place for Nuesta Voz (Team Efforts).

East New York Parish Ready to Fight Illegal Dumping - The Tablet

Best Investigative News Writing, First Place. Judges: "Solid reporting and strong, descriptive writing capture the essence of this issue for the reader."

Affordable Housing Proponents Seek Property Tax Reform - The Tablet

Best Investigative News Writing Second Place Judges: "A lot of good background detail with a 'real world' lede. Good reporting and writing overall."

Chaplain's Plea For Chapel at LaGuardia Airport is Denied - The Tablet

TWO AWARDS 1. Best Investigative News Writing, Third Place Judges: "Strong reporting with good background details of a long-standing quest." 2. The Gerard E. Sherry Award (First Place) For Best Analysis/ Background/Round-Up News Writing Judges: "The author does double duty, clearly explaining and investigating the issue while showing how the main source has also tried to conduct his own investigation. The writer cites many varied sources to give a thorough and clear analysis."

Clergy, Cops, City Leaders On What to Do About Anti-Asian Hate - The Tablet

Best Multimedia Package — Violence In Our Communities, Second Place Judges: "Dramatic and powerful communication product, provided invaluable insight and commentary on an important modern crisis in the U.S. Solid media product."

Masses for Families with Special Needs Show Churches' Welcome-Back Spirit - The Tablet

Best Reporting Of Social Justice Issues, Second Place Judges: "A beautifully written and inspirational piece of journalism."

New Educational Center Enlivens Father Tolton's Legacy - The Tablet

Best Coverage — Racial Inequities, Second Place Judges: "This entry stands out for its integration of profiles of historical figures committed to racial justice with modern efforts to promote justice in their name. Catholic legacy is firmly entwined with modern activism."

Brooklyn's 'Harshest Slave Code' Rivaled the South, Researchers Say - The Tablet

FLATLANDS - Growing up in an African-American family, Dr. Steven Craig Wilder was taught that his hometown, Brooklyn, had been a bastion of famous abolitionists. Based on what he learned in school, Wilder assumed slavery was largely a Southern institution, the opposite of what was believed about Northern states, including New York.

Jesuits Assure Funding Pledge; Slaves' Descendants Blame Delays on 'Hardliners' - The Tablet

Ancestors of slaves owned and sold by Jesuit priests in the early 1800s say modern-day Jesuits have fallen behind on their promise to raise money for reparations. A near-term pledge of $100 million was pledged to help fund racial-healing programs and scholarships for the slaves' descendants.

Catholic Researchers Urge Institutions To Make Deeper Probes for Possible Slavery Ties - The Tablet

Money from the 1838 sale of 272 slaves by Jesuit priests in Maryland helped finance the expansion of the Church in states to the west and north, researchers say. The Jesuits are addressing that history, but some researchers say other institutions, such as colleges and universities, should do likewise.

Chaplains Aim to Help Vets With No Hope Amid Rise in Suicides - The Tablet

Preventing suicides among former service members is a top priority of the chaplains working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Sharing that mission are Father Ivan Tyhovych (left) and Father Andrew Sioleti, chief of chaplains, at the VA's New York Harbor Health System in Manhattan.

Commissioner: Fatal Attack on EMS Lieutenant 'Barbaric' And 'Completely Unprovoked' - The Tablet

EMS Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, 61, was fatally stabbed Thursday on an Astoria street corner while getting lunch. Her attacker is believed to be mentally ill. She served with the FDNY for 25 years, and was among first responders to the 9/11 terror attacks.

Catholic Charities Scrambling to Help Migrants, Says Feds Straining NY System - The Tablet

It took four months for Jennifer to journey from her home in Venezuela to New York City to flee the economic and social turmoil in that troubled nation. The final leg was a bus trip up from the southern border with Mexico.

Only in Print: Former Fire Chief Recounts Miracles the Night Sandy Inundated Breezy Point - The...

Diocesan News BREEZY POINT - Waves of seawater swept like whitewater rapids across the Rockaway Peninsula as Hurricane Sandy viciously stabbed western Long Island on its path to Manhattan on Oct. 29, 2012. Despite orders to evacuate, volunteer firefighters stayed in this land's end community and readied themselves for high-water rescues.

Chaplain Delighted to See More Space Devoted for New LaGuardia Chapel - The Tablet

Plans for a long-desired interfaith chapel at LaGuardia Airport have grown 560 square feet, with high ceilings and a wall of glass windows, according to architectural renderings. Also, two stained-glass windows from the original Lady of the Skies Chapel at JFK International Airport have been offered to the LaGuardia project.

Spotted Lanternfly Causing New York Angst After Infesting Pennsylvania - The Tablet

It may look pretty, but the spotted lanternfly is blamed for millions of dollars in crop losses each year in Pennsylvania. Now, New York's grape farmers in the Finger Lakes region are on high alert, including O-Neh-Da Vineyard, the only dedicated sacramental wine producer in the U.S.

Illegal Dumping Squelched in East New York: Pastor - The Tablet

New York Department of Sanitation issued 1,000 citations and conducted other tasks to curb illegal dumping in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. Father Ed Mason, pastor of Mary Mother of the Church Parish, praised the city's efforts, but urged continued vigilance.

Manhattan Parish Is Home for 580 New Names on AIDS Memorial - The Tablet

CHELSEA - Since 1996, the Church of St. Francis Xavier has kept a memorial bearing 200 names of people who died of complications of AIDS - but in early December, it gained 580 more. The parish, located on West 16th Street in Chelsea, redesigned its AIDS memorial to accept the additional name plaques that comprised a much larger memorial in the choir loft of St.

Abuse Survivor Cheers Bishop's Pledge To 'Address Issues In The Past, And To Heal' - The Tablet

The adult Anthony is 46, lives in Queens, is happily married, is the father of a 12-year-old daughter, and runs his own plumbing company. Then there is Anthony the little boy from a poor family in Brooklyn. He was sexually abused in separate contacts with people he trusted - a public school teacher and a priest.

The Giglio is Back: OLMC Feast Gets Green Light for July Return - The Tablet

Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish's annual summertime feast returns this year July 7-18. Now, as most restrictions have eased, preparations for the famed event - an annual Brooklyn tradition since at least 1903 - have moved forward.

Modern-Day New York Guardsmen Honor Civil War 'Irish Brigade' - The Tablet

On Dec. 13, 1862, a brigade of Union infantrymen, many of them Irish Catholic immigrants who had settled in Brooklyn and Queens, attacked a fortified Confederate position along the high ground south of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The so-called "Irish Brigade" comprised five regiments, three from New York City: the 63rd, 69th, and 88th.

Catholic Teen from Brooklyn Identified 71 Years After MIA in Korean War - The Tablet

Raymond Smith, 18, became missing in action during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in December 1950. He is home now, after military forensic experts used DNA to identify his remains. His sister's son said she was heartbroken for several decades over the loss, but now has closure.

Most Arts Groups 'Cash-Strapped'

An SMU study finds that most arts and culture groups operate with scant cash on hand.

Revolutionary Sharpshooter: How Timothy Murphy's Well-Placed Shot Helped Win the Revolution

The "shot heard round the world" at Concord, Mass. would've meant nothing if not for a lead ball fired two years later at Saratoga, NY.

Have Preston Hollow Voters Turned Purple?

The 2018 mid-term election showed signs of a Democratic rebirth in Texas. “There is a purple Texas on the horizon,” an SMU professor said.

Downward mass attendance concerns pastors

Despite a U.S. decline, clergy see opportunities as Dallas grows.

Heroism, combat medical training, saved lives on train bound for Paris

Spencer Stone, U.S. Air Force photo

Manners, Please!

Etiquette is not for snobbery. It's about kindness. So "Throw kindness like confetti," urges this international etiquette expert trained at Buckingham Palace.

Luxury SOLO: High-End Homes Going Up East of Love Field

"Solo" does not mean "going it alone" in an old neighborhood near Dallas Love Field where builders and realtors are developing the next luxury home-buying destination. It's dubbed "SOLO," meaning "south of Lovers (Lane)."

The Art of Gifting

Dallas entrepreneur inherits her mother's love for pretty packages.

Vaughn Mansion Auction Draws Interest

A Preston Hollow mansion billed as an architectural "masterpiece" went to auction in February, but this was no "fire sale." Known as the Grady Vaughn home, 5350 S. Dentwood Drive, it is among high-end Dallas properties with sellers sidestepping traditional listings and going straight to auction.

Courage Under Fire

Dave Eubank, a humanitarian aid worker, rescued this girl from ISIS violence in Iraq. Eubank, former U.S. Army Special Forces, is the founder of the aid group, Free Burma Rangers. Photo via Free Burma Rangers' Twitter page.

Vested: Protective gear saves Houston cop's life in shooting

Houston Police Officer John Calhoun was shot while tangling with a suspect, but his vest stopped the slug, leaving only a bad welt (left). Calhoun is shown (right) with his partner, Officer Andrea Munoz. Photo By Houston Police

Natalee Holloway: Searchers fear she was dumped at sea

It's every parent's worst nightmare. Natalee Holloway joined friends on a graduation trip to Aruba, but she disappeared forever.

The Black Dahlia

Elizabeth Short sought stardom in the 1940s, but this "Black Dahlia" became the victim in one of the nation's most gruesome unsolved cases. Public Domain Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Suspect in young woman's death ducks extradition; grieving parents outraged

Amanda Lizzio, 21, of Grapevine, died in November 2013 of a head injury suffered in a chain of collisions in north Dallas. But the man suspected of being drunk and causing the wreck fled to his native El Salvador and the existing extradition treaty can't touch him. Photo By Geolina163 - Own work, via Wikimedia Commons http://bit.ly/2vVBHba

Chief: Someone forgot to refill the tanker; apartment dwellers barely escape inferno

Photo By Titus Tscharntke http://bit.ly/2wZBXKe

Somali refugee disfigured in snake attack, but he regains his smile in Fort Worth

The 10-year-old Somali boy was jolted awake by a set of fangs driving into his face. A snake, estimated to be about 12 feet long, struck Mohamed Abdulle, a war refugee, as he slept out in the open near Somalia's border with Kenya. The boy wrestled with the creature and tried to scream.

Chris Kyle: Former SEAL remembered for loyalty, bravery, commitment to family

Photo By Cpl. Damien Gutierrez via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37925731

Boston Marathon Bombing: Tarrant County runners describe 'surreal' scene

Photo by Ingfbruno via Wikimedia Commons.

Pelican Cases

Hanging by a Thread: When disaster struck, it was a phone case that prevented tragedy

Ram Trucks Deer Camp Special

By Bill Miller A hunter relies on the physiological mechanics of his heart, lungs, and muscles to find elusive big game animals in rugged backcountry. Before lacing up his boots for early season elk or mule deer, the smart hunter hits the gym to work out.

Got lumens? The P7.2 by Ledlenser gives you 320

With so much output, the P7.2, a LED light by Ledlenser, is true to the task.

Help from above: SPOT emergency locator keeps track of adventurers

The Next Big Thing: Under Armour launches major initiative for women

Nikon revamps its lineup

Fishing Guide 2014

Upgrade backpacking gear economically, locally

Photo by Eden Miller

Jew, Muslim, Baptist join in prayer for Sandy Hook victims

FORT WORTH -- From the pulpit of a Methodist church and standing near a rabbi, a Muslim imam expressed sadness Thursday night that families of slain children in Newtown, Conn., will be deprived of the joy of Christmas morning. Photo By VOA - http://bit.ly/2eXm5xd, Public Domain, http://bit.ly/2ws3eAs

'I Love New York': Fort Worth soldier fights Taliban in Big-Apple-themed skivvies

Zachary Boyd, US Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry (far left) opens fire at Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

Love Field's neighbors worry Wright Amendment repeal would undo noise controls

Photo By Danazar - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, http://bit.ly/2y1ddyb

Unsung Heroes: Woody plants help deer survive in drought

NOT A SNACK: A white-tailed buck in South Texas browses on spiny hackberry—one of the hardy woody plants credited for helping deer survive during the harshest drought on record. Photo by Tim Fulbright

Costly Convictions: Algerian pilot fights toughened immigration laws, deportation

Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.

Texas mystery: Was it a hairless coyote, or a chupacabra?

Encounters with two hairless canines last week in northeast Hood County are stirring speculation that goat-sucking "chupacabras" have expanded into North Texas.

'They Just Disappeared': Survivor testifies how rescuers died in wreck involving Dallas Cowboy

Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.

Jewel thugs: Organized, violent gangs targeting Texas jewelers

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

No children die today: Principal fights to keep gunman away from students

Photo by Commander Zulu via Wikimedia Commons.

Suspect is taken into custody following stand off with Fort Worth Police SWAT

Details to come.

SWAT commander responds to stand off with suspect in Fort Worth

Details to come.

Families in Saginaw, Texas build a makeshift memorial to 5-year-old girl found murdered on street.

Details to come.

Woman aghast at the ruins of her tornado-ravaged childhood home in Cleburne, Texas

Details to come.

Restaurant employees react to news that their friend is suspected in Washington Navy Yard Shooting

Details to come.

Lessons from Boston attack: Cowtown Marathon boosts medical preparations, security