Rob Reid

Austin ISD seeks to exit $72 million in bond contracts Austin ISD spent $24 million in bond renovations on closing schools and has another $72 million in contracts that the district hopes to exit.

Our Austin newsroom follows up on the school district's efforts to recoup (or try to justify) funds committed to expanding/modernizing schools now slated for closure. austincurrent.org/2026/02/05/a...

One reason Minneapolis remains in the world's eye is we have one of the most robust & independent media ecosystems remaining in the country. You all need this...and more! @mprnews.org @startribune.com @sahanjournal.bsky.social @minnesotareformer.com @minnpost.bsky.social @racketmn.com etc.

...3/3 from Chapter 2 of @christopherbrown.bsky.social 's "A Natural History of Empty Lots," which sets the scene along the Colorado I think near where I scouted a half-abandoned trail between Bolm District Park and the Montopolis Bridge. Saw two 'dillos, countless birds, and no humans.

"An accidental refuge, paradoxically
protected by industrial land uses that were oblivious to their ecological imprint but kept most of the human activities out of the riparian corridor hidden behind them."

“...a stretch of river that seemed so wild that we immediately felt transported to a different time...the river clear and bright as it flowed over mussel shoals and cut deep channels around unexplored islands.”

My daily news diary for January, including: An IU Trident A price tag An empty vaccine syringe Three X logos A bag of money A peace protest sign A shattered ice cube Rama Duwaji's pointy black boot A Venezuelan flag A memorial candle for Renee Good An outline of Greenland A taco The Federal Reserve building A Golden Globe An oil tanker A steak A champagne bottle An Iranian flag A graduation cap A trans pride heart A cell phone with text thread Macron's sunglasses A thermometer and tear gas Liam Ramos's fuzzy hat Alex Pretti's hat and sunglasses Bovino's coat A Ring doorbell A snow shovel An airplane A wind turbine A stack of file boxes A protester holding an ICE OUT sign

To process the chaos, I'm spending a few minutes each night stitching a news diary--embroidering tiny icons representing an important story of the day.

One month in, and it feels like I've already sewn a year's worth of news. But it helps me make sense of it all, so I think I can manage 11 more.

1.5 years and 16 cross-city walks in to being an Austinite, I feel more strongly than ever that the best way to get to know a city is to travel across it as inefficiently as possible-- on foot. I just put four more walks on the calender for the spring. If you're in town, hope you can join one!

TEA moves to fix 4,200 errors in Bible-infused curriculum State Board of Education members criticized the publishing errors and postponed their vote on the agency’s request until their next meeting.

Texas Education Agency moves to correct 4,200 errors in Bible-infused curriculum www.texastribune.org/2026/01/30/t...

NGL this description of Bsky in Vulture cracked me up

Screenshot of the OVA website, showing all courses

The Open Visualization Academy (OVA) IS LIVE!
openvisualizationacademy.org

Thread follows #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVisualization

Voting resources: How to vote in Texas - The Texas Tribune How to vote in Texas.

The Texas Tribune is dedicated to helping Texans vote.

Ahead of the 2026 election, we’ve collected our voting resources on this page for you to easily find and share them with others:

The common traits in Texas schools that trigger takeovers The demographic makeup of the “trigger” schools raises questions about whether Texas' accountability system fairly considers historic inequities tied to race and poverty.

Highest poverty schools were 30x+ as likely to receive a D or F from the state as lowest poverty schools. Compared to majority-white schools: majority-Black schools 4x+ as likely, Hispanic schools 2x+
www.texastribune.org/2026/01/27/t...

...and winding up at an MLK festival at HBCU Huston-Tillotson, where I waited 30 minutes for delicious fried catfish and met a retired soul singer who Google Search AI Overview confidently misassured me had died two years ago.

neighborhoods in flux between gentrification and displacement...

thru three historic black cemeteries
these days clearly labeled with a little history lesson they forgot in school...

I'm thankful for the holiday and a beautiful day for a walk thru Austin's Black history, from early councilman Henry Madison's restored cabin...

While the e-assist did all the heavy lifting, the balance and steering was alllll me 🤗

Austin ISD spent $100 million on schools it will soon close The bond was pitched as a way to shore up struggling schools as Austin ISD faced mounting financial pressures and declining enrollment.

Our local Austin newsroom officially launched today. Here's their first education story. austincurrent.org/2026/01/12/a...

Top stories from the Texas Tribune’s data visuals team The Tribune’s team of data journalists produced a congressional redistricting tool, covered several education data releases, visualized the measles outbreak and more.

Our data viz editor Chris put together a greatest hits compilation of work by Alex, Carla, Dan, Yuriko, Edison, and me in 2025. Chris's name doesn't show up in the bylines of most of these works, but he played a key role in all of them. www.texastribune.org/2025/12/29/t...

decades of Christmas: 1950s record/1960s custom built media cabinet and centralized audio distribution system/1990s wave radio/2010s turntable

recently found a copy of Billy Budd at the NB Whaling Museum, hope to re-read after many decades

Texas college completion rises, low-income students left behind Economically disadvantaged students are much less likely to go on and attain degrees, according to new state data that tracks long-term outcomes.

The same old story about the intractability of poverty—and the uphill efforts of those who help students work past it—needs retelling in as many ways as we can.
www.texastribune.org/2025/12/18/t...

Ours is a time of provably wrong claims, vociferously stated.

"The government has restricted the collection/publication of data on its initiatives; oversight committees hold few hearings; the immigration agencies’ watchdogs have been dismantled. At this moment in history, the measuring falls to the media" link.propublica.net/view/5f0a0af... @propublica.org

Fort Worth ISD had reduced the number of F-rated schools from 31 to 11 in the two years leading up to the takeover. www.texastribune.org/2025/10/29/t...

What are the 17 Texas propositions on the November ballot? A majority of the proposed constitutional amendments address tax cuts for homeowners and businesses.

My colleagues at the Trib put together this straightforward guide to the 17 state propositions on Tuesday's ballot in Texas. I'm finding it handy myself! www.texastribune.org/2025/09/22/t...

The 15th Annual Texas Tribune Festival full program is live! If you don't have your ticket yet, you can DM me for a secret coupon code ($30 off).

Don't discount the layered programming bug theory: flipped minus sign AND forgot to relabel scale to Kelvin (77-273).

A fight to save an Austin middle school puts families at odds with Texas over how to rate schools Legislators have a chance this summer to replace the STAAR test. What they come up with will decide the fate of schools like Dobie Middle School, where low test scores have pushed the Austin district ...

"What happens when the state’s metrics used to measure success and failure in education are fundamentally at odds with how a community views their schools?"
www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

I wanted to shout out to my "tireless" colleagues at the Texas Tribune reporting on the weekend's flooding, but on Monday morning it's clear that they're very tired. The reporting is insightful, the photos visceral, and the tips for how to help purposeful. www.texastribune.org/series/texas...

With only 8% built, Texas quietly defunds state border wall program Texas officials suggested the federal government could pick up construction. However, during President Trump’s first term, his administration built about one-third of what the state was able to put up...

"Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, wondered aloud whether the Legislature was 'spending a whole lot of money to give the appearance of doing something rather than taking the problem on to actually solve it.'"
www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/t...