Houston Landing

National Geographic Society taps Houston archaeologist to lead Black heritage trees project Alicia Odewale, University of Houston professor, will spearhead a two-year project that chronicles Black heritage and resilience by mapping trees.

This is good news for Houston, and Black history stories across the globe. Learn about it in my latest for @houstonlanding.bsky.social houstonlanding.org/national-geo...

A great way to close out #EndometriosisAwarenessMonth:

I’ll be live on @houstonmatters.bsky.social around 9:15 to talk about my latest in the @houstonlanding.bsky.social that details out my journey trying to get an endometriosis diagnosis.

Tune in!

houstonlanding.org/endometriosi...

Houston is experiencing a 'reading renaissance' as small bookstores open across the city Houstonians' desire to shop local and an emphasis on representation have created a perfect market for small bookstores.

What's better than coming back to work after several months away? Spending your first few weeks back hanging at local bookstores, that's what.

My latest for @houstonlanding.bsky.social, out this morning, is a good news piece for all you bookworms out there:

houstonlanding.org/houston-is-e...

Experts are concerned the board is controlled by President John Harris, who is also Colony Ridge Inc.’s CEO and president. They are also worried the board approved $22.5 million in paving contracts to a company multiple board members have financial ties to.

Colony Ridge developers control a board that promised residents enhanced law enforcement and firefighting services, improved roads and drainage and increased economic development. Despite collecting $13 million in taxpayer dollars, the district has barely spent money on these services.

Colony Ridge pushes conflict of interest boundaries with multimillion-dollar contracts, experts say Public records reveal that Colony Ridge controls a taxing district that has approved $22.5 million in contracts for one of its subsidiaries.

Conflicts of interest, unmet promises: Public records show Colony Ridge controls a board that collected $13 million in unspent tax dollars and awarded a subsidiary $22.5 million in contracts.

houstonlanding.org/colony-ridge...

Main homepage — Houston Landing The Houston Landing is an independent, nonpartisan news organization devoted to public service journalism that seeks to strengthen democracy and improve the lives of all Houstonians one story at a tim...

So grateful to have a local news source whose front page is actually reflective of the actual makeup of our community. I didn't know what to think initially, but I'm so impressed with @houstonlanding.bsky.social ! Please don't forget this important news source. houstonlanding.org

Hey y'all! I'm back from maternity leave and ready to hit the ground running as the @houstonlanding.bsky.social's Senior Storyteller. I've been a Twitter girl for .... ever? but I'm excited to meet any of my sources -- old an new! -- over here if that's where we're playing these days!

Houston ISD to propose closing schools in summer 2026 as enrollment keeps falling Houston ISD administrators plan this fall to bring a recommendation for a to-be-determined number of campus closures, arguing they're a necessary response to dramatic enrollment declines.

Breaking: Houston ISD to propose closing schools in summer 2026 as enrollment declines.

Budget plans published by the district Thursday detailed the timeline for considering closures, but didn’t identify a number of campuses targeted for closure.

houstonlanding.org/houston-isd-...

The decision to send about 2,800 students to schools across the district comes amid declining enrollment and a budget deficit of $65 million this year. The district said closures will save them roughly $32 million annually.

Aldine ISD board votes to close 6 schools amid declining enrollment, budget deficit School board members said they reluctantly supported the closures as the district faces dwindling enrollment and a growing budget deficit.

Breaking: Aldine ISD board voted on Tuesday to close six schools at the end of the school year. The campuses closing are Stovall, De Santiago, Eckert, Oleson, Raymond and Smith.

houstonlanding.org/aldine-isd-b...

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.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and the legacy of Blacks in the West. If you know me, you know there was no way I was missing this unique offering at @uh.edu Annie Mulligan and I took the first class and here’s how it went in my latest for @houstonlanding.bsky.social houstonlanding.org/we-took-univ...

Hundreds of Pasadena ISD students graduate high school with a college degree. Here’s how. A region-leading partnership between Pasadena and San Jacinto College is giving high schoolers a head start on college and jobs.

Pasadena ISD’s partnership with San Jacinto College leads as one of the most successful dual-enrollment programs in the state, bringing a free college education to low-income, first-generation high schoolers.

Here’s how the program works.
bit.ly/3PMd23r

Houston ISD relying more on teachers with no classroom experience Houston ISD’s share of first-year teachers has doubled since the arrival of Superintendent Mike Miles in mid-2023, district data show.

Following a major superintendent-led overhaul, more Houston classrooms are being taught by teachers with no prior classroom experience, @houstonlanding.bsky.social reports

houstonlanding.org/houston-isd-...

Protecting above-ground pipelines (Dec. 13, 2024) | Houston Public Media On Friday's show: Houston is home to many above-ground pipelines, like the one in Deer Park a vehicle crashed into causing a fire in September. So, you might be surprised by how limited regulations ar...

Dangers posed by pipelines near Houston roads: Thank you to @craigcohen.bsky.social + @houstonmatters.bsky.social for having me today’s show to talk about our @houstonlanding.bsky.social investigation. Read more here houstonlanding.org/author/ayoung/

www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/sho...

Harris’ outgoing district attorney recommends ‘unprecedented’ plea in capital murder cases Critics said the ‘blanket recommendation’ of life without parole could be inappropriate in certain cases and confuse victims’ families.

EXCLUSIVE: Kim Ogg, Harris County's outgoing district attorney, has issued a blanket plea recommendation of life without parole in more than 60 pending capital murder cases, according to internal office communications obtained by @houstonlanding.bsky.social.
houstonlanding.org/harris-outgo...

From @alisonannyoung.bsky.social , read more of our investigation into the lack of protection and murky regulations surrounding above ground pipelines:

t.co/L2XKbi8FCv

However, the explosion and fire in Deer Park — so massive that a Houston astronaut even photographed it from space — highlights whether pipeline structures need to be better protected against vehicle collisions.

Some in the pipeline industry say the current system of safety is working and noted that pipelines are damaged far more frequently by people digging and doing excavation work than by vehicle crashes.

After the Deer Park explosion, the pipeline’s operator, Energy Transfer, installed new concrete barriers during repairs. But company officials wouldn’t answer questions about whether their pipeline was sufficiently protected before the Sept. 16 collision.

Despite the potential for catastrophic explosions, fires and damage to the environment, records show regulators give pipeline operators wide discretion to decide on their own how much protection pipes require.

The Landing found pipelines damaged in collision incidents often had just chain link or wooden fences as barriers against traffic. Even after a pipeline exploded or burned from a vehicle crash, some pipeline operators were slow to install protective equipment.

The crashes had a common theme: pipelines with little protection against drivers that slammed into them.

A Houston Landing examination has found that, since 2019, pipeline operators have reported 36 dangerous collisions nationwide – 12 of them in Texas – that involved cars, trucks and other vehicles crashing into above-ground gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines.

When an SUV crashed into a pipeline in Deer Park in September, only a chain link fence stood between the vehicle and the pipeline. The crash caused a fatal explosion, killing the driver and burning nearby homes.

It was far from an isolated event. 🧵https://t.co/L2XKbi9ds3

Texas' restrictive abortion law sends Houston teen on cross-country odyssey for help After a strict ban was imposed in 2021, thousands of women have left Texas to end pregnancies. Houston teen embarked on a 1,500-mile journey to do so.

J isn’t alone: 34,000 women who left Texas in 2023 to get an abortion — a number that more than doubled since 2019. From Dion Nissenbaum and @lexigraceparra.bsky.social, read these sisters’ story: houstonlanding.org/texas-restri...

4/4🧵

“It’s completely unfair. It’s absolutely disgusting that we have to travel to another state just because we don’t want to give birth to a whole other living being. So many women have given up on their dreams because they are forced to have a baby,” J said.
3/4🧵

With the help of her sister, L, J would embark on a 1,500-mile, 48-hour, odyssey to and from a New Mexico clinic, willing to offer her the help she wanted.
2/4🧵

When the second line turned pink on her pregnancy test, 17-year-old J knew she didn’t want to be a mother — but in Texas, there is no legal way for her to terminate her pregnancy. 1/4🧵