Locally-Owned and Invested in Our Community for Over 40 Years

The Village News and Southwest News are celebrating their 42nd year as hometown, community newspapers delivered to homes and businesses in Southwest Houston, Bellaire, West University Place and Southside Place.

Kathy Ballanfant (7/11/1945 - 6/24/2022) started her newspaper company on June 1, 1985, the same day her daughter, Andrea, graduated from Lamar High School. "Andy," as her friends know her, came to work in the newspaper offices that summer. While obtaining her MBA and law degree, Andy managed the office and helped to develop the publications as a sought-after marketing space.

Kathy was the first female president of the Inland Press Association and the first female rotarian in this district. She was a founding member, and past president, of the Bellaire Business Association. Beginning at a small Kansas newspaper, Kathy carried her love of the profession through several roles within the world of journalism: reporter, photographer, news bureau chief in Dallas, before realizing her dream of beginning her own newspapers, which have gone on to win numerous local and state awards for excellence in investigative reporting, general news, and international travel series.

Son Ben Ballanfant was five years old when the newspapers began, and he spent nights sleeping at the office while his mom, Kathy, wrote stories and created ads. A graduate of the University of Houston, Ben worked for 20 years as a reporter, photographer, and distribution manager. He inherited his mother's love of adventure and for several years has contributed to our entertainment pages, sharing his experiences from locations around the world, or at culinary hotspots around Houston. Ben assumed the role of publisher following his mother's passing in 2022.