Maggie Gordon

When I met Jessie Jacobs this summer, she desperately needed her home to be repaired due to catastrophic Harvey damage from 6 years ago. Now, I am *so pleased* to report, the state is taking action. Jessie's house will be rebuilt. A story of resilience: houstonlanding.org/she-fell-throu…

Christian Menefee defeats longtime Houston Rep. Al Green in Texas’ new 18th Congressional District texastribune.org/2026/05/26/tex…

I don't say this often. But if you or your loved ones live in TX: you must read this story from the Texas Tribune & ProPublica about flood safety. Flooding is simply part of life in TX, you ignore this information at your own risk, and hurricane season starts Monday. 🧵

According to a recent study, reading for pleasure has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years, continuing a long-running downward trend. By many measures, reading skills for both students and adults continue to fall. Jeffrey Brown spoke with Elizabeth Alexander of the Mellon Foundation about a new effort to boost the world of words. to.pbs.org/3NfW4fX

The Hill: Cornyn won’t commit to backing Paxton “Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Sunday would not commit to backing Trump-endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) if he wins the upcoming Texas Republican Senate runoff election.” thehill.com/homenews/campa…

It's good to be a kitten who's loved by a 4-year-old.

It is very Houston to suddenly build shade sculptures and car-free promenades and light rail lines the moment people who don't actually live there plan to visit for a few days chron.com/news/article/w…

There are days when I miss being an editor and I particularly loved writing headlines. Whoever did this, I hope they took the rest of the day off.

For his latest, @KeatonPeters spent much of his week at Austin city hall to key into what people across the country can glean from this hyper-local example of an issue popping up all over: san.com/cc/austins-app…

"The husk of the Sports Illustrated brand is stealing entire stories from people without credit, seemingly using AI. This becomes very obvious when it's stealing data only you've reported!" futurism.com/artificial-int…

It's just not a proper work week until you're editing a story in the day care parking lot.

Kash Patel posts FBI promo video with apparent uncredited movie scenes. New, from @APaybarah75611 for @StraightArrow__: san.com/cc/kash-patel-…

What happens when beef prices erode a beloved #Houston tradition like bar steak nights? I got some time in my writer's chair to document Moontower's final steak night & what it can tell the whole nation about the economy. My latest for @StraightArrow__: san.com/cc/is-nothing-…

We're trying to be mindful about doing activities with 1 parent/1 kid at a time so everyone feels they have individual attention & relationships. I took my son (21 months) to the park, just the 2 of us. He just ran to the exit gate, screaming for his twin. So it's going great.

New: After news dropped that Robert's Lafitte, one of the oldest gay bars in the state, was in trouble, I spoke to the owners of a few gay bars around Texas. Many said rising anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and the economy are putting the squeeze on these spaces: chron.com/texas/article/…

"News providers will need to accept that in future, the connection with their consumers must flow through a more direct relationship with their talent and one that feels less controlled, less formal, less corporate, human to human." niemanlab.org/2026/05/creato…

Such inspiring news for such a young organization: Spotlight Delaware named News Organization of the Year for 2025 spotlightdelaware.org/2026/05/12/spo…

A large swath of people do not fit neatly into traditional medicine. They have chronic illnesses that are poorly understood — but does that mean they should wait for the science to catch up to feel better? (I personally couldn’t). Good piece here.

What's functional medicine, and why does it feel like it's everywhere these days? @StraightArrow__'s Jess Craig flew to Iowa last month to spend some time with @terrywahls for this deep dive into the medical movement, and Wahls' story: san.com/cc/the-doctor-…

In an increasing number of cities around America, residents turn to digital-native for-profit startups for the latest news. So we’re debuting a new regular set of traffic rankings focused on them. niemanlab.org/2026/05/these-…

This is the view from my home-office chair these days, and I just love it so much. (Though if she could take some of these cat naps at night, I would also not complain....)