Introducing the 2025-26 Local Investigations Fellows | The New York Times Company

Professional news: this is what i've been doing since February! www.nytco.com/press/introd...

Share Your Experiences With School Police Officers in Texas

Find the English version of this link here: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/u...

Comparte tus experiencias con los agentes de policía escolar en Texas

Hola! @nytimes.com quiere conocer las opiniones de estudiantes, empleados escolares y miembros de la comunidad que hayan interactuado con agentes de policía escolar en Texas, así como de agentes que hayan trabajado en recintos escolares. Por favor, comparte aquí: www.nytimes.com/es/2025/05/3...

Comparte tus experiencias con los agentes de policía escolar en Texas

Prefieres compartir en español? Sí, se puede! www.nytimes.com/es/2025/05/3...

Share Your Experiences With School Police Officers in Texas

Y'all! I published something!

I'm reporting on police and security guards in Texas schools for @nytimes.com. I want to hear from anyone who has interacted with a Texas school police officer or security guard or worked as one. More at the link. Please share! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/u...

Keri Blakinger joins Houston Chronicle as new senior investigative reporter Keri Blakinger, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Oscar-nominated documentary producer, has been named a senior investigative reporter at the Houston Chronicle.

As they say... PERSONAL NEWS: I'm leaving the LA Times after 2 wild, amazing years.

For my next stop, I'm heading back to Texas to join the
@houstonchronicle.com's i-team. www.houstonchronicle.com/about/newsro...

CPJ issues safety advisory for journalists traveling to the United States - Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists today released a safety advisory covering a wide range of digital, physical, and legal tips aimed at journalists and media workers who plan to visit the United Sta...

CPJ has issued a safety advisory for journalists traveling to or entering the US:

cpj.org/2025/04/cpj-...

Houston Landing to cease operations in face of financial challenges Although Houston Landing launched with significant seed funding, it has been unable to build additional revenue streams to support ongoing operations.

Devastated by this news. A tremendous loss for Houston and Texas, and so unfair to the extremely talented staff, who would be a gift to any newsroom.
houstonlanding.org/houston-land...

How a South Texas Court System Is Failing Poor Defendants People in Maverick County spend months in jail waiting to be charged with minor crimes. Some are simply lost in the system.

"Some defendants seem to have been forgotten in jail. Two men were released after The Times asked about them, half a year after their sentences had been completed."

This is bananas. Powerful, important work from Jolie McCullough.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/u...

Experts called the chases "crazy" and described Precinct 4's pursuit policy as "weak."

“Why engage in that pursuit and put everybody’s lives at risk when the consequences are so minimal for any of those activities?” said one policing expert.

At least 112 pursuits between 2021 and 2024 ended in a crash, representing nearly a quarter of all chases the Landing analyzed in that time frame.

Between 2021 and 2024, minor traffic violations were often the impetus for lengthy and/or high-speed chases. In 2024, these included one 16-mile pursuit with a maximum speed of 140 miles per hour that began because a driver failed to signal a lane change.

Among the dead are a 16-year-old Cypress Creek High School student who crashed while a deputy pursued him for speeding on an empty roadway and two other teenagers suspected of stealing car parts.

High-speed chases over minor infractions turn deadly in Precinct 4 Precinct 4’s pursuit policy allows high-speed police chases in response to even minor traffic violations, leading to numerous fatal crashes since 2021.

My last story as a @houstonlanding.bsky.social public safety reporter published! José Luis Martinez and I found that Pct 4 Constable deputies initiate dozens of high-speed chases every year over minor traffic violations, with at least 9 fatalities since 2021. 🧵
houstonlanding.org/minor-offens...

A word on @houstonlanding.bsky.social: that newsroom is dynamite. I learned so much from my fellow reporters and am grateful to @mizanur1.bsky.social and @johntedesco.bsky.social for taking a chance on me. No matter what, I will be cheering them on. Also, support
@htxlandingunion.bsky.social!

Some personal news: Friday was my last day @houstonlanding.bsky.social. I can't share my next move quite yet, but I'll be staying in journalism and in Houston. My contact information in the meantime is in my bio. Can't wait to tell y'all what's next.

They’re sending these guys instead

It’s quiet. Too quiet.

Maybe Paxton going after the Harris County Jail so publicly will help slow down Phil King's Bill Waybourn Protection Act (SB 781) which wd make secret misconduct records for police officers and jailers. That was filed to protect Tarrant Co, but wd also apply to Harris.

This is a case of even a stopped clock being right twice per day. Do I think this is happening bc of politics more than Ken Paxton caring about jail conditions? Of course. Are other, R-run jails like Tarrant just as bad or worse? Also yes. But does Harris Co. need to be sued for noncompliance? 100%

Texas attorney general to join efforts to enforce state standards at Harris County Jail The move escalates the state’s efforts to improve conditions in Harris County’s jail system, which has struggled to comply with a remedial order since 2023.

NEW: Nearly 2 years after issuing a remedial order for the Harris County Jail, the TX Commission on Jail Standards is calling on the office of the TX AG for help enforcing minimum standards at the troubled facility.

What does that mean? Maybe a lawsuit.
houstonlanding.org/texas-attorn...

‘Safety, accountability and prevention’: Harris County DA expands domestic violence team The new domestic violence bureau could help crack down on Harris County’s most common criminal charge and help survivors navigate support services.

Nearly one in four domestic violence assault charges filed in TX last year came from Harris County.

I spoke with the Harris County District Attorney's Office prosecutors spearheading an ambitious, county-wide effort to address the problem.
houstonlanding.org/safety-accou...

These are the top immigration changes affecting Houston in Trump’s first days The initiatives signal the administration’s intent to carry out its campaign promises of mass deportations, and provide the first glimpse of how it would do it.

Also, if you're wondering how Trump's other executive orders on immigration could impact Houstonians, Anna-Cat's got you covered. houstonlanding.org/these-are-th...

‘We don’t have options’: Trump ends parole for Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians The humanitarian parole program for Nicaraguans, Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians to live in the U.S. has now been gutted per Trump’s executive order.

Trump's been busy this week. So has @annacat.bsky.social. Here, she illustrates the human toll of Trump's decision to eliminate a humanitarian program - one that drove down unauthorized border crossings from participating nations by 65% (!) in just over a year. houstonlanding.org/we-dont-have...

We took University of Houston’s new Beyoncé Cowboy Carter class.🤠 Here’s what we learned Beyonce’s album sparked national discussion about the exclusion of Black country music artists and was the backdrop to a unique UH course.

If you haven't smiled today (or listened to Cowboy Carter), check out @moniquewelch.bsky.social's latest knockout story about teaching the Black history of the American west. Can I sign up for this class please? houstonlanding.org/we-took-univ...

Fiscales locales pueden tener gran impacto en su caso de inmigración. Esto es lo que debe saber. Según expertos, las condenas por delitos leves pueden acarrear graves consecuencias en materia de inmigración. No todos los fiscales lo tienen en cuenta.

Lea esta historia en español: houstonlanding.org/fiscales-loc...

Local prosecutors can have a big impact on your immigration case. Here’s what to know. Convictions for even minor crimes can trigger outsized immigration consequences for noncitizens, experts say. Not all prosecutors take that into consideration.

Local prosecutors can have a big impact on immigration enforcement. Here's what you should know. My latest, for @houstonlanding.bsky.social.
houstonlanding.org/local-prosec...

Community organizers frustrated by lack of access, input in Mayor Whitmire’s first year One year into Mayor John Whitmire’s term, some community organizers say they feel unheard and ignored by Houston’s chief executive.

“A Houston Landing review of Whitmire’s calendar from January through November 2024. found no scheduled meetings with grass-roots groups focused on climate or transportation, such as Air Alliance or LINK Houston.” Good stuff by @timcarlin.bsky.social houstonlanding.org/community-or...

The Dangerous Yet Desirable Work of Being an Incarcerated Firefighter in California More than 900 prison firefighters were responding to the crisis in Los Angeles — but their pay is low and the ethics of their choice are complicated.

How many incarcerated firefighters are fighting the LA wildfires? What type of work are they doing? And how do they feel about it?

I teamed up with @themarshallproject.org to answer all these questions we've been seeing online: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/01/11/l...

Harris County DA Sean Teare’s law license reinstated after brief administrative suspension The Texas bar reinstated Teare’s law license retroactively after a four-day suspension caused by nonpayment of an administrative fee.

Harris County's new DA Sean Teare saw his law license reinstated last week following a brief administrative suspension.

He forgot to pay a fee, the TX bar confirmed.

It's an embarrassing oversight for the new DA, but not one that will impact his work.
houstonlanding.org/harris-count...