COVER STORY

Reaching for the Stars Miss USA Crystle Stewart and her gay ties. By Donalevan Maines All I know are gay men!” laughs Miss USA Crystle Stewart (former Miss Fort Bend County and Miss Texas-USA). “In the pageant world and modeling world, I'm surrounded by them,” she explains. “I'm blessed, because they have the best taste, and they're very encouraging, very insightful, and very motivating.” In fact, it was two gay men from Dallas who encouraged Stewart not to give up on her dream of becoming Miss USA after falling short four times at Miss Texas-USA, including twice as first runner-up. (She had also been first runner-up twice at the Miss Houston-USA pageant.) Stewart says, “I was at a point that I wasn't going to enter again, and yet I didn't want to go through life thinking ‘what if?'” That's when veteran pageant guru Mike Graham contacted Stewart, seeking to sponsor her, along with jeweler Joe Wilmoth and Houston attorney Bo Boyd, who had been Miss Texas at the 1993 Miss America pageant in Atlantic City. (The pageant prowess of both Gra... READ MORE >>>

FEATURES

Tresses Dresser Hairdresser Albert Luiz styles the locks of pageant pros, including all 51 contestants in the 2009 Miss USA pageant By Donalevan Maines Not Your Same-Old, Same-Old Mr. Prime Choice contest turns 15. By Nancy Ford Photo by Yvonne Feece Part of the 'Solution' The new exhibit at DiverseWorks asks an old question. By Marene Gustin Unfinished Business Middle-America PFLAG waxes as urban PFLAG wanes By Leigh Bell • Photos by Yvonne Feece 30 Years of Sweet Success Acadian Bakers' Sandi Bubbert attributes it to one part: work, and the rest of the parts: passion. SPECIAL UNABRIDGED WEB VERSION By Brandon Wolf • Photo by Blase DiStefano The Finish Line And the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race is Bebe Zahara Benet By Lawrence Ferber • Photo courtesy Logo For Philanthropic Foodies Dining Out for Life returns to benefit AIDS Foundation Houston. By Nancy Ford Tea Time With all the health benefits, anytime is tea time. By Marene Gustin • Photo by Dalton DeHart

NEWS & COMMENT

Publisher's Letter Crazy but true, 15 years of OutSmart! By Greg Jeu LETTERS From Our Readers Appreciating Lt. Mark Timmers. NEW BRIEFS New Briefs Union Bar skirmish; AIDS Walk Houston; housing assistence; and more. By Nancy Ford WHAT A WORLD Face Value When is a bruise not a bruise? By Nancy Ford LEFTOUT A Lot of Firsts 15 random things about Democrats By Brandon Wolf OUTRIGHT Marriage Revisionism There is a constitutionally based reason to overturn California’s Proposition 8. By Dale Carpenter INSIDEOUT AT CITY HALL Remembering a Titan Houstonians have many reasons to thank, and miss, Eleanor Tinsley. By Annise D. Parker AIDS WATCH 15 Random Things You Need to Know about HIV. . . . but not necessarily celebrate By Kelly A. McCann OUTLOUD Friendly Skies How to make your connection. By Sally Sheklow

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

DVD Whole Milk Come for the movie. Stay for the bonus features. Plus DVD Shorts. By Nancy Ford TV Who's That Girl? Tracey Ullman isn’t acting like herself. But that’s her job. Plus TV Shorts. By Nancy Ford GROOVEOUT Various and Sundry A new crop of compilation albums hit (though occasionally miss) the mark By Gregg Shapiro GROOVEOUT GrooveOut Shorts Lily Allen, Cazwell, Erasure, Annie Lennox , Michelle Malone, Balloons, Bob Mould, Beth Orton, MYNX, Judy Carmichael, Jana Mashonee, Matt Zarley, Ari Hest, Thriving Ivory. By Nancy Ford READOUT She Done Her Wrong Unlike Mae West, new bio is bad, but not better By Terri Schlichenmeyer. ReadOut Shorts by Neil Ellis Orts and Angel Curtis.

OUT & ABOUT

CALENDAR April Events Performing arts, radio, art/photography, day-by-day, and HIV testing. Plus HOT TICKETS Un Soiree Pelouse, Munchkin actor, Unity Banquet, iFest. By Sheri Taylor Bockelman SIGNOUT Lilly's Starship Relationships relationships relationships.... By Lilly Roddy BAR AND CLUB GUIDE Listings for Houston, Galveston, Spring, Beaumont, Bryan and College Station Plus: Behind the bar with Ryan Zuckero.

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