From @collinsreports.bsky.social: “You can’t force this sort of energy and involvement in your community. This is organic. Very generous people want the community to be as wonderful as possible; they want to give it to the next generation. It’s an Abilene phenomenon.”

New today: The return of the parasitic worm has been splashed across national, state, and local headlines for the past couple weeks with equal measures of trepidation and disgust. @collinsreports.bsky.social helps us dig into this grim situation with a look at the history of previous infestations.

New: Abilene is a city of literature and art, with 10,000s of visitors streaming into its new library. It's also a city in the throes of an AI boom, and one that certain forces wish to twist to the far right. @collinsreports.bsky.social takes us on a tour of its many contradictions ....

People forgot what the economy was like after Covid.

Featured story, from @gaigedavila.bsky.social: The communities of Laguna Madre have widely rejected a massive liquid natural gas buildout. But special interests are determined to forced the construction through, regardless of the environmental costs.

@talestoterrify.bsky.social Yo, one of my short stories, "Nine Gold Teeth," just went live on the @talestoterrify.bsky.social podcast. Mine is around the 24:45 mark. Check it out! talestoterrify.com/episodes/743...

Welcome to episode 743. We have two tales for you this week. First, a young woman takes a mysterious new job (by @arapino.bsky.social). Then, a boy seeks to reclaim a family heirloom. talestoterrify.com/episodes/743-anthony-j-rapino-christopher-collins/

"After two months of sitting through board meetings dominated by Moms for Liberty, the librarian at the other high school, Kate Stover, and I began inviting parents to come and voice their own perspectives."

I realized that after 12 years, I don't actually know who or where Ken Paxton's base is. When he did poorly in hometown DFW I was worried my strongest warrior had missed a step. But he's only 2.5 points shy now and I'm less impressed by Big John

Particularly excited to see both Moonflow and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter nominated for the Stoker Award. Congrats to the nominees! bramstokerawards.horror.org/front-page/h...

Wild things happening in the Texas Republican primaries.

The People of Minneapolis Will Simply Not Let the ICE Thugs Prevail newrepublic.com/article/2060... via @newrepublic.com

I don't believe in destiny. I don't believe hard work is rewarded. We don't live in a meritocracy. But I believe in inevitability as the result of a series of variables of which one has no control. Being pulled over by ICE is example of chilling inevitability.

the people opposing ice thuggery need one clear descriptor: patriots. they are PATRIOTS in the best american tradition the people fighting the forces of oppression and evil. PATRIOTS.

It's absolutely chilling to see what Trump and his gestapo goons are doing in Minnesota www.reddit.com/r/videos/s/e...

Taco editor José R. Ralat's work for Texas Monthly demands hundreds of hours on the road each year. For him, being pulled over by immigration-enforcement officers has felt like an inevitability for months. https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/taco-editor-stopped-by-ice/

In winning the bid to administer Texas’ school vouchers, the venture-capitalist- backed firm, Odyssey, cultivated close ties to the political world of Gov Abbott, by @byjustinmiller.bsky.social. @texasaft.org @democracymoms.bsky.social @hft2415.bsky.social www.texasobserver.org/texas-vouche...

Exciting news! I've got a forthcoming short story slated for publication on the @talestoterrify.bsky.social podcast. Will update y'all when there's a firm date for release. Thanks to @mlmorgenstern.bsky.social !

Great reporting -- Under the guise of investigating artist Sally Mann, Fort Worth police spent $7,000 on a junket to New York: fortworthreport.org/2025/04/27/f...

After a rough year for the industry, many business are rethinking their business models to sell community first and beer second. 🍻

Happy Earth Day, y’all! (🎨: Steve Pietzsch for @texasmonthly.bsky.social's special 20th anniversary issue.)

Carlton Carl was a real one www.texasobserver.org/carlton-carl...

'Procrastinate' literally means “having been put forward til tomorrow.” ‘pro’ (“forward”) + ‘crastinus’ (“of tomorrow”) We meant to post this weeks ago.

Important work being done by @texasobserver.org www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...

As seen on my FB

‘Mortgage’ comes from two Old French words meaning “death” and “pledge.” …seems like a bit much, right?

Yo, I've got two new stories up over at @texasmonthly.bsky.social. One is about a group of ranchers on the Red River fighting the city of Wichita Falls over its plan to build a massive new lake on their properties. www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/...

‘Nickname’ is not ‘nick’ + ‘name.’ It was originally ‘ekename.’ ‘Eke’ was the Middle English word for “also” or “in addition.” Since ‘ekename’ began with a vowel, people used ‘an’ before it. Over time, 'an ekename' became 'a nickname.'

New bee alert 🐝 The blue-tinged, solitary species was first spotted near Del Rio in 1987, but its identity remained a mystery until now, writes Chris Collins www.texasmonthly.com/travel/new-n...